■if 


Columbia  GUnibensitp 

in  tfje  Citp  of  JSetogorfe 

THE  LIBRARIES 


Heroes  of  the  Reformation 

A  Series  of  Biographies  of  the  Leaders 
of  the  Protestant  Reformation 

EDITED   BY 

SAMUEL   MACAULEY   JACKSON 

Professor  of  Church  History,  New  York  University 


Each  Crown  Octavo.     Fully  Illustrated 


FOR  FULL  LIST  SEE  END  OF  THIS   VOLUME 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S   SONS 
New  York  London 


ftegoeg  of  tbe  Tftetormatiou 

EDITED  BY 

Samuel  /iDacauleg  Sacftson 

PROFESSOR  OF   CHURCH   HISTORY,   NEW   YORK 
UNIVERSITY 


DIVERSITIES  OF  GIFTS,    BUT  THE   SAME  SPIRIT. 


JOHN   KNOX 


IOANNES    CNOXVS. 


Portrait  of  John  Knox  from  Beza's  Ikones.     1580. 


John  Knox 

THE    HERO    OF  THE    SCOTTISH 
REFORMATION 


BY 


HENRY  COWAN,   D.D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  ABERDEEN 

AUTHOR   OF    "THE    INFLUENCE    OF   THE    SCOTTISH    CHURCH   IN 

CHRISTENDOM,"   "LANDMARKS  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY,"  ETC. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

Gbe  Ikntcfcerbocfcer  press 

1905 


!(,  ~3jOSd3 


COPYRIGHT,   1905 

BY 

HENRY  COWAN 


.^ 


Ube  fcnicfcerbocfeer  fl>re6»,  TRew  Jffork 


TO  THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE  JAMES  ALEXANDER 
CAMPBELL,  P.O.,  M.P.,  LL.D. 

I  Dedicate  This  Volume 

in  grateful  remembrance  of  many  words  of  wise  counsel  and 
many  acts  of  thoughtful  kindness  received  from  him  during 
thirty  years  of  friendship; 

and 

as  a  sincere  tribute  to  his  private  worth  and  public  life-work, 

as  a  high-minded   and  honourable  statesman,   a  loyal  and 

devoted    churchman,    an    effective    writer    and    speaker    on 

religious  and  ecclesiastical  subjects,  a  liberal  benefactor  of 

the  universities  which  he  has  long  represented  in  Parliament, 

and    a    generous    friend    of    missionary    and    philanthropic 

enterprise. 

Henry  Cowan. 


PREFACE 

r"T0  have  omitted  John  Knox  from  a  series  of 
*  Heroes  of  the  Reformation  would  have  been 
an  unpardonable  exclusion ;  and  the  year  accepted 
by  British  and  American  Churches  (whether 
rightly  or  wrongly)  for  the  Quater-centenary 
commemoration  of  his  birth,  appeared  to  be  the 
most  appropriate  time  for  the  issue  of  this  volume. 
The  author  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to 
earlier  labourers  in  the  same  field ;  and  his  sources 
are  given  in  the  accompanying  list.  In  that  list 
(apart,  of  course,  from  what  was  written  during 
or  soon  after  the  Reformer's  own  century),  three 
works  are  of  special  value.  The  Life  of  Knox, 
by  Rev.  Dr.  McCrie,  published  nearly  a  century 
ago,  signally  revived  the  interest  not  only  of 
Scotland  but  of  Christendom  in  the  Reformer, 
and  vindicated  his  name  from  many  unjust  im- 
putations. Ten  years  ago,  Professor  Hume  Brown 
gave  to  the  world  two  substantial  and  scholarly 
volumes  which  contain  almost  all  of  importance 
that  is  known  about  Knox,  including  much  that 


vi  Preface 

was  unknown  to  Dr.  McCrie.  Most  valuable  of 
all  is  the  monumental  edition  of  Knox's  Works, 
with  learned  introductions,  notes,  and  appen- 
dices, by  the  late  David  Laing,  LL.D.  (1846-1864). 
Through  this  magnum  opus  the  reader  is  able  to 
form  an  independent  judgment,  from  original 
sources,  of  the  Reformer's  character,  history,  and 
influence.  The  aim  of  the  present  writer  has 
been,  in  the  limited  space  at  his  disposal,  to 
describe  those  portions  of  the  career  of  Knox 
which  are  most  likely  to  be  of  general  interest ;  to 
place  his  life-work  in  its  historical  setting;  to 
facilitate  for  students  the  consultation  of  original 
authorities;  and  to  present  a  picture  of  the 
Reformer  which,  without  concealing  his  infirm- 
ities, would  help  to  vindicate  his  right  to  enrol- 
ment alike  among  the  foremost  heroes  of  the 
Reformation,  and  among  the  greatest  and  noblest 
of  Scotsmen.  In  the  revision  of  proofs,  the 
writer's  esteemed  colleague,  Professor  Nicol,  along 
with  the  editor  himself,  has  been  most  helpful. 
To  Mr.  Pittendrigh  Macgillivray,  R.S.A.,  and  to 
others,  the  author  and  publishers  are  indebted 
for  permission  to  reproduce  several  illustrations. 
Kind  friends  in  various  scenes  of  Knox's  ministry 
have  contributed  many  photographs.     The  schol- 


Preface  vii 

arly  minister  of  Guthrie  has  rendered  efficient 
service  in  the  preparation  of  the  Index.  It  is  a 
disputed  question  how  far  one  is  justified,  when 
quoting  Knox,  in  modernising  the  spelling.  To 
retain  uniformly  the  original  form  of  the  words 
is  not  only  inconvenient  for  many  readers,  but  is 
sometimes  even  misleading;  as  when  the  Re- 
former writes  of  certain  "pure"  men,  meaning 
not  innocent  but  poor.  The  author,  accordingly, 
has  modified  the  spelling  in  most  cases,  retaining 
occasionally,  however,  archaic  forms  where  such 
retention  appeared  to  add  to  the  significance. 

H.C. 

Aberdeen,  April,  1905. 


CONTENTS 

PREFACE       V 

ALPHABETICAL    LIST    OF     WORKS     CITED     WITH 

KEY    TO    THE    ABBREVIATIONS  .  .  .  xix 

INTRODUCTORY  SURVEY 

INFLUENCES  ALIENATING  SCOTLAND  FROM  ROME  PRIOR 
TO    THE    TIME    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

I. — The  Scottish  Celtic  Church:  its  foundation  and 
development  independently,  for  the  most  part, 
of  Rome.  II. — Independent  attitude  of  the 
Scottish  Church  toward  Rome  on  various  oc- 
casions during  the  period  of  Roman  supremacy. 
III. — Diminished  prestige  and  influence  of  the 
Roman  Church  in  Scotland  owing  to  practical 
abuses  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries. 
IV. — Inauguration  in  Scotland  of  doctrinal  re- 
volt against  Rome  in  the  fifteenth  century        .         1-21 

CHAPTER  I 

BIRTH    AND    EDUCATION    OF    KNOX EARLY    RELIGIOUS 

ENVIRONMENT    AND    ECCLESIASTICAL    POSITION 

1513    (or  i505)-i543 

I. — Date  of  Knox's  birth:  divergent  testimonies. 
II. — Place  of  birth:  diversity  of  opinion.  III. 
— Parentage  of  Knox.  IV. — Boyhood  and 
education  at  Haddington.  V. — Contemporary 
Reforming  movement  in  Scotland;  Preaching 
ix 


x  Contents 

and  martyrdom  of  Patrick  Hamilton.  VI.-— 
Probable  influence  of  Hamilton's  testimony  and 
martyrdom  over  Knox;  Professional  employ- 
ment. VII. — Long  reticence  and  reserve  of 
Knox  regarding  the  Reformation  movement; 
The  probable  causes  of  his  reserve:  (i)  Aca- 
demic influence  of  Major;  (2)  Hierarchical 
repression  and  persecution;  (3)  Patriotic  re- 
luctance of  Knox  to  identify  himself  with  an 
unpatriotic  party.  Additional  Note  on  the  date 
of  Knox's  birth 22-48 

CHAPTER  II 

THE      REFORMATION       IN       SCOTLAND      BETWEEN      1543 

AND    1546:    PARTICIPATION    OF    KNOX    IN    THE 

MOVEMENT 

I543~I546 

I. — The  Protestant  movement  after  the  death  of 
James  V.  under  the  Regent  Arran ;  John  Knox 
and  Thomas  William,  the  Regent's  chaplain. 
II. — Recantation  of  Arran  and  restoration  of 
Cardinal  Beaton  to  power.  III. — George 
Wishart:  his  preaching,  martyrdom,  and  in- 
fluence over  Knox.  Additional  Note  on  the 
alleged  complicity  of  George  Wishart  in  the  con- 
spiracy against  Cardinal  Beaton        .  .  .       49-67 

CHAPTER  III 

KNOX   AT   ST.   ANDREWS HIS  CALL   TO    THE    REFORMED 

MINISTRY HIS    CAPTURE    BY    THE    FRENCH    AND 

EXPERIENCE    IN    THE    GALLEYS 
I 546-I 549 

I. — Assassination  of  Cardinal  Beaton — Knox's  re- 
sort to  the  castle  of  St.  Andrews.  II. — Knox 
and  Rough;    Formal  call  to  the  ministry.     III. 


Contents  xi 

Knox's  testimony  and  work  at  St.  Andrews. 
IV. — His  capture  by  the  French ;  Servitude  in 
a  French  galley  and  eventual  liberation    .  .        68-87 

CHAPTER  IV 

JOHN     KNOX     IN     ENGLAND THE     PIONEER    OF     PURI- 
TANISM 
1549-1554 

I. — Ecclesiastical  condition  of  Scotland  at  the  time 
of  Knox's  restoration  to  liberty;  His  settle- 
ment in  England.  II. — Knox  at  Berwick; 
Public  ministry.  III. — Knox  at  Berwick; 
Private  life  and  relations.  IV. — Knox  at  New- 
castle; Testimony  against  the  Mass.  V. — Ap- 
pointment to  Royal  chaplaincy  and  offer  of  a 
bishopric — Knox's  influence  in  the  Church  of 
England.  VI. — Knox  in  England  under  Mary 
Tudor;   Eventual  escape  to  the  Continent         .     88-117 

CHAPTER  V 

KNOX  ON  THE  CONTINENT  OF  EUROPE A  LEADER  AND 

PASTOR    OF    BRITISH    PROTESTANT    EXILES 

LITERARY    ACTIVITY 
1554-1559 

I. — Significance  of  Knox's  continental  life  and  work; 
His  mindfulness  of  home.  II. — Knox  at 
Dieppe;  His  first  visit  to  Switzerland.  III. — 
Knox  at  Frankfort;  Conflict  with  Anglicans. 
IV. — Knox  at  Geneva  prior  to  his  first  return  to 
Scotland  in  1555.  V. — Ministry  at  Geneva 
after  his  return  from  Scotland  in  1556.  VI. — 
Temporary  interruption  of  Genevan  pastorate 
in  1557.  VII. — Latest  ministry  at  Geneva; 
His  departure.  VIII. — Service  of  Knox  to 
French  Reformed  Church  at  Dieppe  in  1559. 
Additional  Note:  Knox  on  Predestination       .    118-155 


xii  Contents 

CHAPTER  VI 

KNOX'S   FIRST   RETURN  TO   SCOTLAND 

1555-1556 

I. — Brightening  of  the  ecclesiastical  horizon  in  Scot- 
land. II. — Knox's  arrival  in  Scotland  in  the 
autumn  of  1555;  Withdrawal  of  Protestants 
from  attendance  at  Mass.  III. — Evangelistic 
ministry  of  Knox  during  the  winter  and  spring 
°f  I555— 56.  IV. — Citation  of  Knox  fry  the 
Hierarchy  in  May,  1556  ;  The  issue. "^V. — 
Letter  of  Knox  to  the  Regent  Mary  and  its 
reception.  VI. — Other  literary  work  of  the 
Reformer  during  this  period.  VII. — Departure 
of  Knox  from  Scotland  in  July,  1556;  Burning 
of  Knox  in  effigy       ......   156-174 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE     SCOTTISH      REFORMATION     MOVEMENT     BETWEEN 
KNOX'S  DEPARTURE  FROM  SCOTLAND  IN   1556  AND 

HIS     FINAL     RETURN     IN     1 559 THE     REFORMER'S 

CONTRIBUTIONS  IN  HIS  ABSENCE  TO  THE  PROGRESS 
OF  THE  CAUSE 

1556-1559 

I. — Increasing  strength  and  self-reliance  of  the  Re- 
formers; Policy  of  aggression;  Knox's  letter 
from  Dieppe;  The  First  Covenant;  Introduc- 
tion of  a  Reformed  Book  of  Common  Prayer; 
Petition  of  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation.  II. 
— Decreasing  friendliness  of  the  Regent  towards 
Protestants,  issuing  in  antagonism;  Marriage 
of  Mary  Stuart  and  the  Dauphin;  Its  effect  on 
the  Regent's  ecclesiastical  policy.  III. — In- 
creasing boldness  of  the  Hierarchy  as  the  result 
of  the  Regent's  attitude — Renewal  of  persecu- 


Contents  xiii 

tion;  Martyrdom  of  Walter  Milne.  IV. — 
Growth  of  popular  sentiment  against  Roman- 
ism and  against  the  French  alliance.  V. — 
Knox's  "Appellation  to  the  Estates"  and 
"Address  to  the  Commonalty."  VI. — The 
Protestation  before  Parliament  in  November, 
1558.  VII. — Open  alliance  of  the  Regent  with 
the  Hierarchy,  and  precipitation  of  the  conflict 
by  the  interdict  and  citation  of  Protestant 
preachers I75_I95 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FINAL   RETURN   OF   KNOX   TO    SCOTLAND THE   CLOSING 

CONFLICT    AND    THE    ESTABLISHMENT    OF    THE 
REFORMATION 

I559-I560 

I. — Knox's  return  to  Scotland ;  Proclamation  of  the 
preachers  as  outlaws.  II. — Knox  preaching  at 
Perth;  The  "Rascal  Multitude."  III.— Ser- 
mon of  Knox  at  St.  Andrews;  Temporary 
truce.  IV. — Knox  in  St.  Giles' ;  Protestant 
manifesto;  Temporary  compromise  between 
Reformers  and  Regent.  V.— Knox  preaching 
throughout  Scotland,  and  negotiating  with  Eng- 
land. VI. — Renunciation  of  allegiance  to  the 
Regent  under  Knox's  guidance.  VII. — Knox 
with  the  Reformers  at  Stirling ;  Fresh  negotia- 
tions with  England  through  Maitland  of  Leth- 
ington.  VIII. — Knox  at  St.  Andrews;  Open 
alliance  between  England  and  the  Scottish  Re- 
formers. IX.— The  English  in  Scotland;  The 
Scottish  band.  X. — Siege  of  Leith;  Death  of 
the  Regent ;  Treaty  of  Leith.  XL— The  Parlia- 
ment of  1560  and  its  ecclesiastical  enactments; 
Knox  and  the  Reformed  Confession  of  Faith     .    196-234 


xiv  Contents 

CHAPTER  IX 

KNOX     AND     THE     ORGANISATION     OF     THE     REFORMED 
SCOTTISH    CHURCH 

1560-1561 

I. — The  First  Book  of  Discipline  as  the  ideal  em- 
bodiment of  the  Church's  polity.  II. — Provi- 
sions regarding  ecclesiastical  office-bearers  and 
Church  government.  III. — Regulations  re- 
garding ritual ;  The  Book  of  Common  Order.  I V. 
— Arrangements  as  to  ecclesiastical  discipline. 
V. — Provisions  for  the  education  of  the  young. 
VI. — Proposals  regarding  the  Church's  patri- 
mony. VII. — Reception  of  the  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline by  Church  and  State.  VIII. — Public 
discussion  soon  after  the  Reformation  between 
representatives  of  the  Old  Faith  and  the  New. 
IX. — Knox's  literary  labour,  domestic  trouble, 
and  political  anxiety  during  the  first  year  of 
the  Reformed  Church 235-260 

CHAPTER  X 

KNOX    AND    QUEEN    MARY 

1561-1563 

I. — The  return  of  Mary  Stuart  to  Scotland  in  1561 ; 
The  danger  to  the  Reform  cause.  II. — The 
attitude  of  Knox  towards  the  Court  and  to- 
wards the  celebration  of  Mass  at  Holyrood. 
III. — Knox's  first  interview  with  Queen  Mary; 
His  reply  to  her  charges  and  complaints.  IV. 
— Four  subsequent  private  interviews.  V. — 
Trial  of  Knox  for  treason  at  Royal  instigation ; 
His  acquittal;  Continued  mutual  antagonism. 
VI. — General  review  of  Knox's  attitude  to- 
wards the  Queen 261-289 


Contents  xv 

CHAPTER  XI 

KNOX  AND  THE  PROTESTANT  STATESMEN  OF  SCOTLAND 

PRINCIPLE    VERSUS    EXPEDIENCY 

IS61-I565 

I. — Divergence  between  Knox  and  Protestant  states- 
men as  to  Reform  policy  prior  to  Queen  Mary's 
return  to  Scotland.  II. — Continued  divergence 
after  the  Queen's  return,  occasioned  by  (1)  the 
question  of  the  Holyrood  Mass,  (2)  the  com- 
bination of  political  with  religious  aims  on  the 
part  of  Protestant  statesmen,  (3)  the  powers 
claimed  by  Knox  for  the  General  Assembly, 
(4)  the  Reformer's  public  references  to  the 
Queen.  III. — Crisis  of  divergence  at  the  time 
of  Mary's  first  Parliament;  Temporising  policy 
of  the  Protestant  statesmen  denounced  by 
Knox  as  a  relapse  from  Christ.  IV. — Fruitless 
attempt  to  arrive  at  a  common  understanding; 
Questions  discussed  at  a  private  conference 
of  moderate  and  thorough  supporters  of  the 
Reformation.  V. — Personal  estrangement  be- 
tween Knox  and  Moray;  Its  detrimental  influ- 
ence     290-303 

CHAPTER  XII 

KNOX    DURING    THE     PERIOD    OF    THE    TEMPORARY    DE- 
PRESSION   AND    EVENTUAL    RATIFICATION    OF 
PROTESTANTISM 
1565-1568 

I. — Marriage  of  the  Queen  to  Darnley  and  her  libera- 
tion from  Protestant  control.  }IT. — Attitude  of 
Knox  towards  the  Royal  marriage;  Claims  of 
the  General  Assembly ;  Sermon  of  Knox  before 
Darnley.  III. — Incipient  Catholic  reaction 
and  exile  of  Protestant  statesmen;  The  Church 
appoints  a  Fast  and  commissions  Knox  to  plant 


>* 


xvi  Contents 

new  Kirks.  IV. — Compact  of  Darnley  and 
Lennox  with  Protestant  statesmen  against  Riz- 
zio;  Rizzio's  assassination;  Was  Knox  impli- 
cated? V. — Apparent  reconciliation  of  Mary 
with  Darnley;  Flight  of  the  Protestant  con- 
spirators; Knox  in  Ayrshire.  VI. — Ascend- 
ency of  Bothwell;  Knox's  return  to  public  life; 
The  Reformer  in  St.  Andrews;  General  ap- 
proval of  the  later  Helvetic  Confession;  The 
Reformer  in  Edinburgh;  Protest  of  General 
Assembly  against  re-instature  of  Archbishop 
Hamilton.  VII. — Knox  in  England;  Remon- 
strance against  the  deprival  of  English  Puritans ; 
Visit  to  his  sons  at  Berwick.  VIII. — Murder  of 
Darnley — Remarriage,  imprisonment,  and  com- 
pulsory abdication  of  Mary;  Knox's  relation 
to  the  Revolution.  IX. — Co-operation  of  Knox 
with  Murray ;  Parliamentary  ratification  of  the 
Protestant  establishment  in  December,  1567    .  3°4~333 

CHAPTER  XIII 

LAST    YEARS    OF    KNOX'S    LIFE POLITICAL,    ECCLESIAS- 
TICAL, AND    PERSONAL    TROUBLES RESIDENCE 

AT    ST.    ANDREWS 
1568-1572 

I. — Political  trouble;  Rival  parties;  Assassination 
of  Moray;  Knox's  lamentation.  II. — Eccle- 
siastical trouble ;  Secession  of  influential  Prot- 
estants to  Queen's  party;  Selfish  attitude  of 
Regent's  party  towards  the  Church.  III. — 
Personal  trouble;  Apoplexy;  Controversy; 
Anonymous  attacks  upon  Knox.  IV. — With- 
drawal to  St.  Andrews;  Physical  infirmity; 
Pulpit  labours;  Literary  work.  V. — Introduc- 
tion of  a  modified  Episcopacy  into  the  Church ; 
Concordat  of  Leith;  Knox's  attitude  and  pro- 
cedure. Additional  Note  on  Catholic  Calumni- 
ators of  Knox        .  334~358 


Contents  xvii 

CHAPTER  XIV 

KNOX'S    LAST    DAYS HIS    DEATH CHARACTER    AND 

INFLUENCE 
1572 

I. — Return  of  Knox  to  Edinburgh ;  Appointment  of 
Lawson  as  his  colleague.  II. — Latest  pulpit 
efforts;  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew;  Induc- 
tion of  Lawson.  III. — Knox  on  his  death-bed; 
Death  and  funeral.  IV. — Estimate  of  the 
Reformer's  character.  V. — His  influence  upon 
Scotland  and  other  countries.  Additional 
Notes  on  "John  Knox's  House"  and  "John 
Knox's  Person  and  Family  "     ....  359-393 

INDEX 395 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Portrait  of  John  Knox  from  Beza's  Ikones.    1 580 

Frontispiece 

Site  of  Knox's  probable  birthplace,  in  Gifford- 
gate,  Jladdington.  The  tree  was  planted 
by  the  direction  of  Thomas  Carlyle  .         .       24 

Haddington  Parish  Church  ("Lamp  of  Lo- 
thian"), in  which  Knox  attended  George 
Wishart  on  the  occasion  of  the  latter's  last 
sermon,  in  January,  1546,  a  few  hours  be- 
fore Wishart's  arrest  ....        58 

Pulpit  from  which  Knox  preached  in  the  Town 

church  of  St.  Andrews         .  .  .  -74 

Now  in  the  University  Building. 

Ruins  of  the  Castle  of  St.  Andrews    ...       80 

Ruins  of  the  Castle  of  Berwick-on-Tweed  .         .       94 

Church  of   St.   Nicholas   (now  the   Cathedral), 

Newcastle 104 

From  an  eighteenth-century  print. 

Church  of  the  Weissen  Frawen   ("White   La- 
dies,"    Cistercian     order)     in     Frankfort, 
where  Knox  officiated  in  1554    .         .         .126 
From  a  print  of  the  sixteenth  century. 


xx  Illustrations 

PAGE 

L'Auditoire,   Geneva,  in   which   Knox  and  his 

congregation  worshipped,  1556-59      .         .134 

Church  of  S.  Pierre,  Geneva       .         .         .         .136 

Facsimile  (on  reduced  scale)  of  Knox's  letter  to 

Queen  Elizabeth,  6th  Aug.,  1561        .         .     144 
From  the  original  in  the  State  Papers  Office. 

Reverse  side  of  Knox's  letter  to  Queen  Eliza- 
beth     146 

Rue  d'.Ecosse,  Dieppe         .  .  .         .         .150 

Several  of  the  houses  on  the  right  existed  in 

Knox's  time. 

St.  John's  Church,  Perth,  where  Knox  preached 

in  May,  1559 198 

Now  divided  into  East,  West,  and  Mid  Churches. 

Interior  of  West  Church,  Perth,  being  part  of 
the  Church  of  St.  John's,  where  Knox 
preached  on  nth  May,  1559.  The  pulpit 
no  longer  exists,  but  its  site  is  marked  by 
the  white  cross  in  photograph  .         .         .200 

The  Town  Church,   St.   Andrew,   where   Knox 

preached  in  1547,  1559,  and  1571-72  .  .     202 

From  an  eighteenth-century  print. 

Holyrood  Palace  as  it  was  prior  to  1650    .  .     262 

Pulpit  from  which   Knox  is  believed  to  have 

preached  in  St.  Giles'  .  .  .  .300 

Now  in  the  National  Museum  of  Antiquities, 
Edinburgh. 

Greyfriars'      Church,      Stirling,     where     Knox 
preached  on  the  occasion  of  the  Coronation 
of  James  VI.,  in  1567         ....     306 
Now  East  and  West  Churches. 


Illustrations  xxi 

PAGE 

The  Pulpit  in  the  Greyfriars'  Church,  Stirling, 
from  which  Knox  preached  the  sermon  on 
the  occasion  of  the  Coronation  of  James  VI., 

in  1567 3°8 

Now  in  a  side-room  of  the  church. 

Facsimile  of  part  of  a  page  of  MS.  of  Knox's 
Historie  in  the  library  of  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity ;  with  a  marginal  note  in  Knox's 
handwriting         .  .  .  .  .  .320 

St.  Giles'  Cathedral,  Edinburgh  .         .         .     330 

From  the  West. 

Statue  of  John   Knox,   which   is  about  to   be 

erected  in  St.  Giles'  ....     340 

Edinburgh  Castle,  as  it  was  before  the  siege  of 

1573 35° 

Ruins  of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Andrews     .         .376 
"John  Knox's  House,"  High  Street,  Edinburgh,     384 

Room  supposed  to  have  been  Knox's  study  in 

"John  Knox's  House,"  Edinburgh     .         .386 

Stone  in  Parliament  Square,  Edinburgh,  mark- 
ing approximately  the  place  of  Knox's 
grave  in  what  was  formally  the  Churchyard 
of  St.  Giles' 393 


ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  BOOKS 
REFERRED  TO  IN  THIS  WORK 

Compiled  by  the  Editor 

Acts  of  Parliament  of  Scotland  [i  124-1707],  The.  London, 
1844  sqq.      12  vols. 

Adamnan  :   Vita  S.  Columbce.     See  Historians  of  Scotland. 

Ailred  :  Life  of  Saint  Ninian.     See  Historians  of  Scotland. 

Alesius,   Alexander:   Primus   liber  Psalmorum     . 
expositus.     Leipzig,  1554. 

Anonymous  (James  Lawson?)  Eximii  viri  Johannis 
Knoxii  vera  extremice  vitce  et  obitus  historia.  See  Thomas 
Smeton.  Translated  in  Laing,  Works  of  John  Knox,  vi.,  649- 
660. 

Aylmer,  John:  An  harborowe  for  faithfull  and  trewe  sub- 
jectes  against  the  late  bloune  Blaste  concerning  the  governmit  of 
Wemen.  Wherein  be  confuted  all  such  reasons  as  a  straunger  of 
late  made  in  that  behalf 'e,  with  a  brief  e  exhortation  to  obedience. 
Strassburg,  1559. 

Baillie,  Alexander:  True  Information.    Edinburgh,  1628. 

Bain,  Joseph:  Calendar  of  Documents  relating  to  Scotland. 
Edinburgh,  1881. 

Balnaves,  Henry:  A  brief e  sommarie  of  the  work  by 
Balnaves  on  Justification.  In  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  13-28. 
The  Confession  of  Faith,  conteining  how  the  trottbled  man  should 
seeke  refuge  at  his  God  thereto  led  by  faith:  with  the  declaration 
of  the  article  of  justification  at  length.  The  order  of  good 
workes,  which  are  the  fruites  of  faith:  And  how  the  faithful,  and 
justified  man,  should  walke  and  live,  in  the  perfite  and  true 
Christian  religion,  according  to  his  vocation.  Edinburgh ,  1584. 
In  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  431-542. 

xxiii 


xxiv  Books  Referred  To 

Bannatyne,  George:  Ancient  Scottish  Poems.  Edinburgh, 
1770. 

Bannatyne,  Richard:  Memoriales  of  Transactions  in 
Scotland,  1569-73.  Ed.  R.  Pitcairn.  Edinburgh:  Ban- 
natyne Club,  1836. 

Bede:  Ecclesiastical  History.  English  trans.,  in  Bonn's 
Antiquarian  Library. 

Bellesheim,  Alphons:  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  of 
Scotland.     Edinburgh,  1887-90.     4  vols. 

Beza,  Theodore:  Volumen  Tractationum  Theologicarum. 
Geneva,  1570-82.     3  vols. 

Beza,  Theodore:  Epistolariim  Theologicarum  liber  unus, 
Geneva.  1573. 

Beza,  Theodore:  I  cones,  id  est  vera  imagines  virorum 
doctrina  simul  et  pietate  illustrium,  quorum  prcecipue  minis- 
terio  partim  bonarum  liter  arum  studia  sunt  restituta,  partim 
vera  Religio  in  variis  orbis  Christiani  regionibus,  nostra  pa- 
trumque  memoria  fuit  instaurata:  additis  eorundem  vitoe  & 
operce  descriptionibus ,  quibus  adiectce  sunt  nonnullce  pictures 
quas  Emblemata  vocant.     Genevae,  apud  Ioannem  Laonium 

M.D.LXXX. 

Book  of  Common  Order  (The);  or,  the  form  of  prayers  and 
ministration  of  the  sacraments,  etc.,  approved  and  received  by 
the  Church  of  Scotland.  Edinburgh,  1564  (In  Laing,  W.  of  K., 
vi.,  274-333). 

Book  of  Discipline     See  Buke. 

Bower,  Walter:  Scotichronicon.  See  Historians  of 
Scotland  (under  John  of  Fordun). 

Briggs,  Charles  Augustus:  American  Presbyterianism. 
Its  origin  and  history.  Together  with  an  appendix  of  letters  and 
documents ,  many  of  which  have  recently  been  discovered.  New 
York,  1885. 

Brown,  Peter  Hume:  John  Knox  :  A  Biography.  Lon- 
don, 1895.     2  vols. 

Buchanan,  David:  "Life  and  Death  of  John  Knox  "(pre- 
faced to  his  edition  of  John  Knox's  Historie  of  the  Reforma- 
tioun     .      .      .     of  Scotland.    Edinburgh,  1644.    2d  ed.,  1645). 

Buchanan,  George:  The  History  of  Scotland.  Glasgow, 
Edinburgh,  London,  1855.     6  vols. 


Books  Referred  To  xxv 

Buke  (The)  of  Discipline.  Edinburgh,  1560.  In  Laing, 
W.  of.  K.,  ii.,  183-259. 

Burne,  Nicol:  The  Disputation  concerning  the  conirovertit 
headdis  of  religion,  holdin  in  the  realme  of  Scotland,  the  zeir 
of  God  ane  thousand  fyue  hundreth  fourscoir  zeiris.  Betwix 
the  prcetendit  ministeris  of  the  deformed  Kirk  in  Scotland,  and 
Nicol  Burne,  Professor  of  Philosophic  in  5.  Leonardos  College, 
&c.     Paris,  1 58 1. 

Burnet,  Gilbert:  The  History  of  the  Reformation  of  the 
Church  of  England.     Ed.  N.  Pocock,  Oxford,  1865.     7  vols. 

Burns,  William  :  The  Scottish  War  of  Independence. 
Glasgow,  1874.     2  vols. 

Burton,  John  Hill:  History  of  Scotland.  Edinburgh, 
1867-70.     7  vols. 

Galderwood,  David:  The  True  History  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  Ed.  T.  Thomson.  Edinburgh:  Wodrow  Society, 
1842-49.     8  vols. 

Calvin,  John:  Opera.  Ed.  Baum,  Cunitz,  Reuss,  Erichson, 
Berlin,  1900.     59  vols. 

Carlyle,  Thomas:  On  Heroes,  Hero-worship  and  the 
Heroic  in  History.     London,  1840.     Many  editions. 

Carlyle,  Thomas:  Inaugural  Address  at  Edinburgh,  April 
2d,  1866  ("On  the  choice  of  books").     Edinburgh,  1866. 

Chalmers,  George:  Caledonia.  London,  1807-24.  3 
vols. 

Cochet,  Jean  Benoit  Desire:  Repertoire  Archeologique 
du  Departement  de  la  Seine,  Inferienre.     Paris,  187 1. 

Confessioun  (The)  of  Faith  professit  and  belevit  be  the 
Protestantis  within  the  realme  of  Scotland.  Edinburgh,  1561. 
In  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  ii.,  93-154. 

Contra  Collatorem.     See  Prosper. 

Cook,  George:  History  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland. 
Edinburgh,  1881.     3  vols. 

Cowan,  Henry:  The  Influence  of  the  Scottish  Church  in 
Christendom.     London,  1896. 

Cramond,  William:  The  Truth  about  George  Wishart. 
Montrose,  1898. 

Cunningham,  John:  The  Church  History  of  Scotland. 
Edinburgh,  1859.     2  vols.      2d.  ed.,  1882. 


xxvi  Books  Referred  To 

Dempster,  Thomas:  Historia  ecclesiastica  gentis  Scotorum. 
Ed.  D.  Irving.     Edinburgh:    Bannatyne  Club,  1829. 

Desmarquets,  M.:    Memoires  chrenologiques  .     de 

Dieppe.     Dieppe,  1785. 

Diurnal  of  Remarkable  Occurrents  (A)  .  .  .  since  the 
Death  of  King  James  IV.,  till  .  .  .  1575.  Ed.  T.  Thom- 
son.    Edinburgh:  Bannatyne  Club,  1833. 

Drysdale,  A.  H.:  History  of  the  Presbyterians  in  England, 
their  Rise,  Decline,  and  Revival.     London,  1889. 

Dunbar,  William:  "  Visitation  of  St.  Francis  ";  "  Friar  of 
Berwick";  "Fly ting."  See  The  Poems  of  William  Dunbar. 
Edinburgh:  Scottish  Text  Society,  1884. 

Duval,  Guillaume  et  Jean:  Histoire  de  la  Reformation  a 
Dieppe,  1 557-1657.  Ed.  Emile  Lesens.  Rouen,  1878-79. 
2  vols. 

Fleming,  David  Hay:  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  from  her 
Birth  to  her  Flight  into  England.     London,  1897. 

Forbes,  Alexander  Penrose:  Saint  Ninian  and  Saint 
Kentigern.     See  Historians  of  Scotland. 

Forbes,  Patrick:  A  Full  View  of  the  Public  Transactions 
in  the  Reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.     London,  1740-41.     2  vols. 

Fordun,  John  of:  Chronicle  of  the  Scottish  Nation.  See 
Historians  of  Scotland. 

Foxe,  John:  Acts  and  Monuments.  Ed.  George  Town- 
send.     London,  1843-49.     8  vols. 

Froude,  James  Anthony:  History  of  England.  London, 
1856-70.      12  vols.     (Many  editions). 

Gairdner,  James:  The  English  Church  in  the  Sixteenth 
Century,  from  the  Accession  of  Henry  VIII.  to  the  Death  of 
Mary.     London,  1903. 

Gregory  I.,  Pope:  Epistles.  Eng.  trans,  of  selected 
epistles  by  James  Barmby,  in  Nicene  and  Post-Nicene 
Fathers.  2d  series,  vol.  xiii.  The  Epistles  on  Image  Worship 
in  Marseilles  are  ix.,  105  (p.  23)  and  xi.,  13  (p.  53). 

Grub,  George:  An  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  from 
the  Introduction  of  Christianity  to  the  Present  Time.  Edin- 
burgh, 1 86 1.     4  vols. 

Guibert,  Michel  Claude:  Memoires  pour  servir  a  /' 
Histoire  de  la  Ville  de  Dieppe.     Dieppe,  1878.     2  vols. 


Books  Referred  To  xxvii 

Haddan,  Arthur  West,  and  Stubbs,  William.  Ed.  of 
Henry  Spelman's  Councils  and  Ecclesiastical  Documents. 
Oxford,  1869-78.     4  vols. 

Hailes,  David  Dalrymple:  Annals  of  Scotland.  3d  ed. 
Edinburgh,  18 19.     3  vols. 

Hamilton,  Archibald:  De  confusione  Calviniance  sectce 
apud  Scotos  Ecclesice  nomen  ridicule  usurpantis  dialogus. 
Paris,  1577. 

Hamilton,  Archibald:  Calviniance  Confusionis  demon- 
strate, contra  maledicam  ministrorum  Scotice-  responsionem,  in 
duos  divisa  libros.  Quorum  prior:  proprietatmm  verce  EcclesicB 
evictionim:  posterior,  earundem  in  hypothesi  ad  res  subjectas 
applicatarum,  contentionem  continet.     Paris,  1581. 

Hamilton  Papers,  The.  Letters  and  Papers  illustrating  the 
political  relations  of  England  and  Scotland  in  the  XVI.  Century. 
Formerly  in  the  possession  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  now  in  the 
British  Museum.  Ed.  Joseph  Bain.  Edinburgh,  1890-92. 
2  vols. 

Hardy,  Samuel:  Histoire  de  V  Eglise  Protestante  de  Dieppe. 
Paris,  1897. 

Henry,  Paul:  Das  Leben  Johann  Calvins.  Hamburg, 
1835-44.  3  vols.  Eng.  trans,  by  Henry  Stebbins,  London, 
185 1.     2  vols. 

JHerkless,  John:   Cardinal  Beaton.     London,  1891. 

Historians  (The),  of  Scotland.  Edinburgh,  1871-80.  10 
vols.  Vols,  i.,  iv.,  John  of  Fordun's  Chronicle  of  the  Scottish 
Nation.  Ed.  W.  F.  Skene,  187 1,  1874.  Vols,  ii,  iii.,  ix., 
Andrew  of  Wyntoun,  Metrical  Chronicle.  Ed.  D.  Laing, 
1872,  1879.  Vol.  v.,  Lives  of  Saint  Ninian  [by  Ailred]  and 
of  Saint  Kentigern  [by  Jocelyne].  Ed.  A.  P.  Forbes,  1874. 
Vol.  vi.,  Life  of  Saint  Columba,  written  by  Adamnan.  Ed. 
W.  Reeves,  1874.  Vols,  vii.,  x.,  The  Book  of  Pluscarden, 
being  unpublished  continuation  of  Fordun's  Chronicle,  by 
M.  Buchanan.  Ed.  Felix  Skene,  1877,  1880.  Vol.  viii., 
Thomas  Innes,  Critical  Essay  on  the  Ancient  Inhabitants  of 
Scotland.     Ed.  George  Grub,  1879. 

"History  of  the  Estate  of  Scotland  from  1558-1560."  In 
Wodrow  Miscellany.     See  Laing,  David. 

Hodge,  Charles:  The  Constitutional  History  of  the  Presby- 


xxviii  Books  Referred  To 

terian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America.  Part  I.,  1705- 
1741.    Part  II.,  1741-1788.     Philadelphia,  1839-40.     2  vols 

Huraut,  Etienne:  John  Knox  et  ses  relations  avec  les 
eglises  re 'formees  du  Continent.     Cahors,  1902. 

Jocelyne:  Life  of  Saint  Kentigern.  See  Historians  of 
Scotland. 

Keith,  Robert:  The  History  of  the  Affairs  of  Church  and 
State  in  Scotland  from  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation  to  1568. 
Edinburgh,  1734.  Reprinted  by  the  Spottiswoode  Society, 
Edinburgh,  1844-50.      3  vols. 

Kerr,  Samuel:  Where  John  Knox  was  Born.  Edinburgh, 
i860. 

Knox,  John:  History  of  the  Reformation.  Ed.  David 
Laing.  See  Laing,  Works  of  Knox.  Quoted  uniformly  as 
Knox,  H.  of  R. 

Labanoff  (Lobanov-Rostovsky,  Alexsander  Ivanovich), 
Prince:   Lettres  inedites  de  Marie  Stuart.     Paris,  1839. 

Laing,  David:  The  Works  of  John  Knox.  Edinburgh: 
Wodrow  Society,  1846-64.  6  vols.  (Quoted  uniformly  as 
Laing,  W.  of  K.). 

Laing,  David:  The  Miscellany  of  the  Wodrow  Society, 
containing  Tracts  and  Original  Letters  Chiefly  Relating  to 
the  Ecclesiastical  Affairs  of  Scotland  during  the  Sixteenth 
and  Seventeenth  Centuries.  Edinburgh:  Wodrow  Society, 
1844. 

Laing,  James:  De  vita  et  moribus  atque  rebus  gestis  heret- 
icorum  nostri  temporis .     Paris,  1581. 

Lang,  Andrew:  History  of  Scotland.  Edinburgh,  1900- 
1904.     3  vols. 

Law,  Thomas  Graves:  New  Testament  in  Scots.  London, 
1901. 

Lee,  John  :  Lectures  on  the  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 
from  the  Reformation  to  the  Revolution  Settlement.  Ed.  William 
Lee.     Edinburgh,  i860.     2  vols. 

Lees,  James  Cameron:  St.  Giles',  Edinburgh.  Cfyurch 
College  and  Cathedral  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present  day. 
Edinburgh,  1889. 

Lesley,  John:  History  of  Scotland,  1436-1561.  Edin- 
burgh, 1830. 


Books  Referred  To  xxix 

(Leslie)  :  The  historie  of  Scotland,  wrytten  first  in  Latin 
.  translated  into  Scottish.  Edinburgh:  Scottish  Text 
Society,  1885-95.      2  vols. 

Livre  des  Anglois  a  Geneve.  Ed.  J.  S.  Burn.  London, 
1.83 1.  Ed.  also  by  A.  F.  Mitchell  (see  below).  Also  by  H. 
B.  Hacket  in  the  "  Bibliotheca  Sacra."  (Andover,  Mass.) 
Vol.  for  1862. 

Lorimer,  Peter:  Precursors  of  Knox;  or,  Memoirs  of 
Patrick  Hamilton.  .  .  .  Alexander  A  lane  or  Alesius, 
.  a)id  Sir  David  Lindsay,  of  the  Mount.  Edinburgh, 
1857.     2d  ed.,  i860. 

Lorimer,  Peter:  The  Scottish  Reformation.  London  and 
Glasgow,  i860. 

Lorimer,  Peter:  John  Knox  and  the  Church  of  England. 
London,  1875. 

Louden,  David:  The  History  of  Morham.  Haddington, 
1889. 

Luther,  Martin:  Brief wechsel.  Best  ed.  E.  L.  Enders. 
Frankfurt- am- Main,  1884  sqq.  Luther's  letters  will  be  found 
translated  into  modern  German  in  vols,  xxia  and  b.,  of  the 
Walch  edition  of  Luther's  writings,  published  by  the  Con- 
cordia Publishing  House.     St.  Louis,  Mo.,  1903-5. 

Lyndsay,  Sir  David:  The  Poetical  Works.  (Contains  his 
"  Complaynt  of  the  Papyngo,"  "  Ane  Pleasant  Satyre  of  the 
Thrie  Estaites  in  commendation  of  vertue  and  vituperation 
of  vice,"  and  "  The  Tragedie  of  the  Cardinall.")  Ed.  George 
Chalmers,  London,  1806,  3  vols.;  David  Laing,  Edinburgh, 
187 1,  3  vols.;  Early  English  Text  Society,  London,  1863, 
sqq. 

McCrie,  Thomas:  The  Life  of  John  Knox.  Edinburgh, 
18 1 2.  Many  editions,  best  by  Thomas  McCrie,  the  younger. 
Edinburgh,  1855. 

McCrie,  Thomas:  Life  of  Andrew  Melville.  2d  ed. 
Edinburgh,  1824.      2  vols. 

McCrie,  Thomas  (the  younger):  Sketches  of  Scottish 
Church  History.     Edinburgh,  1841,  n.  e.",  1875. 

Major,  John  :  A  History  of  Greater  Britain,  as  well  England 
as  Scotland.  Trans,  by  A.  Constable.  Edinburgh:  Scottish 
Historical  Society,  1892. 


xxx  Books  Referred  To 

Major,  John:  Quartus  senUntiarum  [of  Peter  Lombard]. 
Paris,  1509,  n.  e.,  1519. 

Major,  John  :  Commentary  on  Matthew  (in  quatuor 
Evangelia  expositiones) .     Paris,  1529. 

Marsden,  John  Buxton:  The  History  of  the  Early  Puritans 
from  the  Reformation  to  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War  in  1642. 
London,  1850. 

Marteilhe,  Jean:  Autobiography.  Trans,  from  the 
French.     London:    R.  T.  S.,  1866  (later  editions). 

Martine,  George:  Reliquiae  Divi  Andrece;  or,  The  State 
of  the     .     .     .     See  of  St.  Andrews.     St.  Andrews,  1797. 

Mathieson,  W.  L.:  Politics  and  Religion:  A  Study  in 
Scottish  History  from  Reformation  to  Revolution.  Edinburgh, 
1902.     2  vols. 

Matthew  Paris:  Historia  Anglorum.  Eng.  trans.  Eng- 
lish history,  1235-1273.      In  Bohn's  Antiquarian  Library. 

Melanchthon,  Philip:  Opera  in  "Corpus  Reformator- 
um,"  i.      Halle,  1834. 

Melville,  James:  Memoirs  of  his  own  Life;  1549-93. 
Ed.  T.  Thomson.     Edinburgh:    Bannatyne  Club,  1827. 

Miller,  David:  The  Lamp  of  Lothian;  or,  The  History  of 
Haddington.     Haddington,  1844. 

Miller,  Robert:  John  Knox  and  the  Town  Council  of 
Edinburgh.     Edinburgh,  1898. 

•Milligan,  George:  The  English  Bible.  A  Sketch  of  its 
History.     Edinburgh,  1895. 

Mitchell,  Alexander  Ferrier:  The  Scottish  Reforma- 
tion.    London,  1900. 

Moncrieff,  James  :  The  Influence  of  Knox  and  the  Scottish 
Reformation  on  England.  London  (Y.  M.  0.  A.  Lectures), 
i860. 

Monipennie,  John:  The  abridgement  or  summarie  of  the 
Scots  Chronicles.     Edinburgh,  1633.      2d  ed.,  1650. 

Munimenta  Alme  Universitatis  Glasguensis.  Glasgow: 
Maitland  Club,  1854.     4  vols. 

Murray  (afterwards  Aust),  Hon.  S.  (Mrs.):  A  Companion 
and  Useful  Guide  to  the  Beauties  of  Scotland  &c.  London, 
1 7 79-1 803.     2  vols. 

Nau,  Charles:    The  History  of  Mary  Stewart,  from  the 


Books  Referred  To  xxxi 

Murder  of  Riccio  until  her  Flight  into  England.  Edinburgh, 
1883. 

National  MSS.  of  Scotland,  Facsimiles  of.  Southampton, 
1867-71.     3  parts. 

Perry,  George  Gresley:  History  of  the  Reformation  in 
England.     London,  1886. 

Petrie,  Alexander:  A  Compendious  History  of  the 
Catholick  Church  from     .     .     .     600  to  1600.     Hague,  1662. 

Pinkerton,  John:  History  of  Scotland.  Edinburgh,  1797. 
2  vols. 

Pitscottie  (properly  Robert  Lindsay  of  Pitscottie) : 
The  History  and  Chronicles  of  Scotland.  Ed.  A.  J.  G.  Mackay. 
Edinburgh:  Scottish  Text  Society,  1899. 

Pluscarden,  Book  of.     See  Historians  of  Scotland. 

Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland.  See 
Transactions. 

Prosper,  of  Aquitaine:  Chronic  on.     In  Migne,  Pat.  hat.  li. 

Prosper,  of  Aquitaine:  Liber  contra  Collatorem  (against 
Cassian'  s  Collationes  Patrum).     Ibid. 

Registre  des  Bourgeois,  of  Geneva.     Preserved  in  Geneva. 

Registrum  Episcopatus  Glasguensis,  Munimenta  Ecclesie 
Metropolitane  Glasguensis  a  sede  restaurata  seculo  ineunte 
XII.  ad  reformatam  religionem.  Ed.  C.  Innes.  Edinburgh: 
Bannatyne  Club,  1843.      2  vols. 

Robertson,  Joseph:  Statuta  (Concilia  Scotics  Ecclesice 
Scoticance  statuta — 1225-1559.)  Ed.  Joseph  Robertson. 
Edinburgh:  Bannatyne  Club,  1866. 

Rogers,  Charles:  Life  of  George  Wishart.  Edinburgh, 
1876. 

Rogers,  Charles  :  Genealogical  Memoirs  of  John  Knox  and 
of  the  Family  of  Knox.     London:    Grampian  Club,  1879. 

Row,  John:  The  History  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  1 558-1 639. 
Edinburgh,  Wodrow  Society,  1842. 

Ruthven,  Patrick:  A  Relation  of  the  Death  of  David 
Rizzio.     London,  1699. 

Sadler  Papers  (The  State  Papers  and  Letters  of  Sir  Ralph 
Sadler.     Ed.  Arthur  Clifford.     Edinburgh,  1809.      2  vols.). 

Schaff,  Philip:  History  of  the  Christian  Church.  Vol.  vii. 
The  Swiss  Reformation.     New  York,  1892. 


xxxii  Books  Referred  To 

Skelton,  John:  Maitland  of  Lethington  and  the  Scotland 
of  Mary  Stuart.     Edinburgh,  1887.      2  vols. 

Skene,  William  Forbes:  Celtic  Scotland.  Edinburgh, 
1876-80.     3  vols. 

Smeton,  Thomas:  Ad  virulentum  Archibaldi  Hamiltonii 
Apostates  dialoguni,  de  confusione  Calviniance  Sectce  apud 
Scotos  .  .  .  orthodoxa  respondia  .  .  .  Adjecta  est  vera 
historia  extremes  vitce  et  obitus  Johannis  Knoxii.      Edinburgh, 

'579- 

Smith,  Wm.,  and  Cheetham,  Samuel:  Dictionary  of 
Christian  Antiquities.  London:  John  Murray,  1875-80.  2 
vols. 

Spalding  Club  (The  new)  Miscellany.     Aberdeen,  1890. 

Spottiswoode,  John:  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
Edinburgh:  Spottiswoode  Society,  1847-51.     3  vols. 

Stalker,  James:  John  Knox,  his  Ideas  and  Ideals.  Lon- 
don and  New  York,  1904. 

Stark,  John:  The  Picture  of  Edinburgh.  Edinburgh,  1806. 
Sixth  edition,  1834. 

State  Papers  published  under  the  authority  of  His  Majesty's 
Commission.     London,  1830  sqq. 

Stebbing,  Henry:   Life  of  Calvin.     See  Henry,  Paul. 

Stephen,  Thomas:  The  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
from  the  Reformation  to  the  Present  Time.  London,  1843-45. 
4  vols. 

Stevenson,  Robert  Louis:  Familiar  Studies  of  Men  and 
Books.     London,  1882. 

Story,  Robert  Herbert:  The  Church  of  Scotland,  Past 
and  Present.     London,  1890-91.     5  vols. 

Strype,  John:  Ecclesiastical  Memorials.  London,  1721. 
3  vols.  (The  Clarendon  Press  ed.  of  his  works,  Oxford, 
1812-24.      19  vols.) 

Teulet,  Jean  Baptiste  Alexandre  Theodore:  Papiers 
d'Etat  relatifs  a  Vhistoire  de  VEcosse  au  XV P  siecle.  Edin- 
burgh: Bannatyne  Club,  1851-60.     3  vols. 

Theiner,  Augustus:  Vetera  Monumenta  Hibemorum  et 
Scotorum  historiam  illustrantia.     Rome,  1864. 

Thompson,  Robert  Ellis:  A  History  of  the  Presbyterian 
Churches  in  the  United  States.     New  York,  1895. 


Books  Referred  To  xxxiii 

Transactions  (or  Proceedings)  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries 
of  Scotland.     Edinburgh,  1792  sqq. 

Turgotus:  Vita  Margaret®.  Eng.  trans,  by  William 
Forbes-Leith :  Life  of  Saint  Margaret,  Queen  of  Scotland. 
3d  ed.     Edinburgh,  1896. 

Tytler,  Patrick  Fraser:  England  under  the  Reigns  of 
Edward  VI.  and  Mary.     London,  1839.     2  vols. 

Tytler,  Patrick  Fraser:  History  of  Scotland.  Edinburgh, 
1850.     n.  e.,  London,  1877.     4  vols. 

Vitet,  Louis:  Histoire  des  anciennes  villes  de  France. 
Haute  Normandie.     Dieppe.      Paris,  1833. 

Warren,  Frederick  Edward:  Liturgy  and  Ritual  of  the 
Celtic  Church.     Oxford,  1881. 

Webster,  Richard:  A  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  America,  from  its  Origin  until  the  Year  1760.  With  Bio- 
graphical Sketches  of  its  Early  Ministers.    Philadelphia,  1858. 

Winzet,  Ninian:  Certane  tractatis  for  reformation  of 
doctryne  and  maneris  in  Scotland,  1562-3.  Ed.  J.  K. 
Hewison.  Edinburgh:  Scottish  Text  Society,  1888-90.  2 
vols. 

Wodrow  Miscellany.     See  Laing,  David. 

Wyntoun:  Cronykil.     See  Historians  of  Scotland. 


JOHN   KNOX 


INTRODUCTORY   SURVEY 

INFLUENCES    ALIENATING    SCOTLAND    FROM    ROME 
PRIOR    TO    THE    TIME    OF    JOHN    KNOX 

JOHN  KNOX,  by  universal  acknowledgment, 
is  the  hero  of  the  Scottish  Reformation.  In 
the  final  revolt  of  Scotland  against  Rome,  as  well 
as  in  the  establishment,  organisation,  and  con- 
solidation of  the  Reformed  Church,  his  influence 
was  paramount  and  his  service  unique.  Not  only, 
however,  does  an  important  share  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  work  belong  to  his  immediate 
predecessors,  as  well  as  coadjutors,  in  the  six- 
teenth century;  but  the  way  was  prepared  by  a 
series  of  events  and  a  chain  of  influences  extend- 
ing over  many  generations. 

I.  The  foundations  of  the  Christian  Church  in 
what  is  now  called  Scotland  were  laid,  for  the 
most  part,  independently  of  the  Roman  See.  The 
direct  connection  with  Rome  of  Ninian  of  Whit- 
horn in  Galloway — the  earliest  conspicuous  figure 


2  John  Knox 

of  North  British  Christendom — rests  mainly  on  the 
meagre  testimony  of  the  Venerable  Bede  who 
wrote  in  731,  three  centuries  after  Ninian's 
death.  He  states  that  Ninian  was  "a  most  rev- 
erend bishop  and  holy  man  of  the  British  nation, 
who  had  been  regularly  instructed  at  Rome  in 
the  faith  and  in  the  mysteries  of  the  truth,"  T  but 
he  says  not  a  word  about  Ninian  having  been 
sent  on  a  mission  by  Rome,  or  of  Rome  exercising 
any  ecclesiastical  authority  over  or  through  him. 
Palladius  was  undoubtedly  sent  forth,  as  his  con- 
temporary, Prosper  of  Acquitaine,  testifies,  by 
Ccelestius,  Bishop  of  Rome,  in  431  a.d.,  to  be  "  first 
bishop  of  the  Scots  who  believe  in  Christ"  2 ;  and 
a  brief  missionary  ministry  among  the  Scots  of 
Ireland  is  universally  attributed  to  him ;  but  it 
is  disputed  whether  what  is  now  called  Scotland 
received  more  than  his  venerated  bones.3  Even 
if  the  story  of  his  arrival  in  the  Mearns  (Kin- 

1  Bede,  Hist.  Eccl.,  iii.,  4.  Ailred's  account  (in  the  twelfth 
century)  of  Ninian  being  sent  forth  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome 
as  an  apostle  to  North  Britain  is  too  late  to  be  trustworthy. 
(Life  of  S.  Ninian,  chap,  ii.) 

2  Prosper,  Chron.,  under  431 ;  Cont.  Collat.,  ch.  xxi. 

3  The  late  Dr.  W.  F.  Skene,  the  chief  modern  authority 
regarding  Celtic  Scotland,  considers  it  "probable"  that  only 
the  relics  of  Palladius  were  brought  to  the  Mearns  by  his 
disciple,  Ternan;  on  the  ground  (1)  that  in  an  Irish  com- 
position belonging  to  the  ninth  century,  Palladius  is  repre- 
sented as  suffering  martyrdom  in  Ireland,  and  (2)  that  in 
another  ancient  document,  Ternan  is  identified  with  Palladius 
(Skene,  Celtic  Scotland,  ii.,  27-30).  Andrew  Lang  concurs 
with  Skene  (Hist,  of  Sc,  i.,  20). 


Introductory  Survey  3 

cardineshire)  be  accepted,1  his  influence  was  local 
and  limited :  the  later  records  of  an  extensive 
ecclesiastical  organisation  created  by  him  in  Scot- 
land are  unhistorical.2  Kentigern  entered  on  his 
missionary  career  in  the  valley  of  the  Clyde  about 
the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  not  only  without 
any  Roman  commission,  but — if  the  disinterested 
testimony  of  his  biographer  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury can  be  trusted — after  consecration  at  Glasgow 
administered  by  a  single  bishop,  and  therefore, 
from  the  Roman  standpoint,  irregular.3 

Still  more  significant  is  the  entrance  of  Kenti- 
gern's great  contemporary,  Columba,  on  his  mem- 
orable ministry  as  Abbot  of  Iona  and  Apostle 
of  Caledonia,  neither  on  Roman  impulse  nor  under 


1  Haddan  and  Stubbs  (Counc.  and  Eccl.  Doc,  vol.  ii.,  part 
ii.,  291)  regard  the  "balance  of  evidence"  as  in  favour  of 
this  view. 

2  Skene,  ii.,  31,  32,  197.  The  exaggerated  representation 
of  Palladius's  work  in  Scotland  depends  mainly  on  the 
authority  of  Fordun,  Scotichr.,  iii.,  8,  9  (fourteenth  cen- 
tury). 

3  Jocelyne,  Life  of  S.  Kent.,  xi.  Jocelyne  wrote  this  bio- 
graphy on  the  basis  of  documents  and  traditions  found  in 
Glasgow.  He  must  have  discovered  strong  evidence  of  the 
non-Roman  character  of  Kentigern's  consecration;  other- 
wise he  would  hardly,  as  a  Roman  monk,  have  given  promin- 
ence to  the  irregularity.  On  the  other  hand,  his  account  of 
Kentigern's  seven  journeys  to  Rome  and  of  a  pontifical  con- 
firmation of  his  irregular  episcopate  cannot  be  accepted  as 
historical:  the  tradition  is  apparently  the  outcome  of  later 
belief  in  the  necessity  of  such  ratification.  See  Grub,  Eccl. 
Hist,  of  Scot.,  i.,  40;  Forbes,  5.  Ninian  and  S.  Kent.,  p. 
355- 


4  John  Knox 

papal  patronage.1  Ecclesiastical  independence 
was  a  characteristic  of  the  Columban  Church. 
In  the  period  which  immediately  followed  the 
death  of  its  founder  in  597,  this  Church,  rather 
than  accept  certain  Roman  usages  (particularly 
regarding  the  exact  time  of  observing  Easter) 
inconsistent  with  Celtic  tradition,  withdrew 
in  664  from  its  great  work  of  Anglo-Saxon 
evangelisation  inaugurated  at  Lindisfarne,  thirty 
years  before,  by  Aidan,  a  monk  of  Iona.2  There 
is  no  trace  in  Scotland,  for  several  centuries  after 
Columba's  time  of  what  Protestants  regard  as 
"Mary- worship,"  or  of  the  superstitious  venera- 
tion of  images ;  although  these  errors,  during  this 
period,  became  prevalent  in  Roman  Christendom.3 
The  government    of    the   early   Scottish  Church 

1  Adamnan,  Life  of  S.  Col.,  2nd  Pref . ;  i.,  7;  iii.,  4;  Bede, 
Hist.  Eccl.,  iii.,  4. 

2  Bede,  iii.,  3,  5,  21-26.  The  significance  of  this  proceeding 
is  not  nullified  by  the  Church's  voluntary  adoption  (in  the 
eighth  century)  of  the  Roman  mode  of  fixing  the  date  of 
Easter. 

3  For  illustrations  of  the  Virgin  in  Christian  art  as  an 
object  of  ultra- veneration  so  early  as  the  sixth  century,  see 
Smith,  Diet.  Chr.  Ant.,  ii.,  1154-  This  excessive  veneration 
was  fostered  through  the  designation  "Theotokos" — Mother 
of  God — (sanctioned  by  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  in  451),  as 
well  as  through  the  festival  of  the  Virgin's  "Assumption," 
instituted  in  the  sixth  century.  During  the  pontificate  of 
Gregory  I.  (590-604),  a  bishop  of  Marseilles  represented 
"image- worship"  as  rife  in  his  diocese  (Greg.,  Epis.,xi.,  13). 
In  787,  the  ultra- veneration  of  images  already  established  as  a 
usage,  was  sanctioned  by  the  Seventh  (Ecumenical  Council, 
which  was  acknowledged  by  Rome. 


Introductory  Survey  5 

was  vested  not  in  bishops,  but  in  abbots,  and  a 
bishop,  while  admitted  to  functional  precedence 
in  the  celebration  of  Holy  Communion  and  in  the 
Ordination  service,  was  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  an  abbot  of  Iona  who  was  simply  a  presbyter.1 
Down  to  the  age  of  Queen  Margaret,  moreover, 
in  the  eleventh  century,  the  Church  retained  a 
non-Roman  liturgy  which  to  Catholic  churchmen 
of  the  time  appeared  to  be  a  "  ritus  barbarus  "  2 ; 
the  Benedictine  rule  which  mainly  regulated 
Roman  and  monastic  life  was  ignored3  ;  and  the 
territorial  subdivisions  of  parish  and  diocese,  es- 
tablished elsewhere,  were  in  Scotland  unknown.4 

II.  The  spiritual  decay  of  the  Celtic  Church 
of  Scotland  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries 
paved  the  way  for  the  Romanising  as  well  as  (in 
many  respects)  reforming  influence  of  the  Saxon 

1  Bede,  iii.,  4;  Adam.,  L.  of  S.  Col.,  i.,  29,  35. 

2  So  it  is  called  by  Turgot,  Queen  Margaret's  confessor  and 
biographer,  Vita  Marg.,  ii.,  16.  Probably,  however,  it  was 
an  ancient  form  of  service,  having  affinity  with  the  Gallic, 
Spanish,  and  Eastern  liturgies.  See  Warren,  Celtic  Ritual, 
pp.  164,  165,  who  illustrates  such  affinity  from  the  liturgical 
fragment  (ninth  century)  in  the  Book  of  Deer. 

3  This  rule  appears  to  have  been  introduced  into  Scotland 
in  1097,  when  King  Edgar  restored  Coldingham  Monastery  as 
a  Benedictine  "house."     See  Grub,  Eccl.  Hist,  of  Sc.,  i.,  205. 

4  Ednam,  in  Roxburghshire,  is  believed  to  be  the  earliest- 
founded  parish  in  Scotland  (1 100  a.d.).  See  deed  of  founda- 
tion in  National  MSS.  of  Scot.,  Part  I.,  8.  The  division 
into  dioceses  began  about  1107  under  King  Alexander  I.,  who 
created  the  Sees  of  Moray  and  Dunkeld  out  of  the  national 
bishopric  of  St.  Andrews.  His  brother  and  successor,  David 
X.,  practically  completed  the  diocesan  organisation. 


6  John  Knox 

Queen  Margaret  and  her  sons  (1067-1153  a.d.). 
Yet  even  after  the  Church  had  become  Roman 
in  constitution  and  in  usage,  much  of  the  Celtic 
spirit  of  independence  survived.  Amid  occasional 
controversy,  indeed,  with  the  Archbishops  of  York, 
who  claimed  jurisdiction  over  bishops  in  Scot- 
land,1 the  Scottish  Church  readily  appropriated 
the  designation,  conferred  in  11 88  by  Pope 
Clement  III.,  of  "Filia  specialis"  of  the  Roman 
See.2  But  otherwise  subjection  to  Rome  was 
conspicuously  minimised,  and  sometimes  deliber- 
ately withheld3.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  twelfth 
century,  King  William  the  Lion  and  a  bishop 
of  St.  Andrews  defied  a  papal  excommunication 
and  interdict.4  In  the  following  century  Kings 
Alexander  II.  and  III.,  with  the  support  of  the 
leading  clergy,  resisted  the  intrusion  of  papal 
legates  who  offered  advice  which  was  not  wanted, 
and  claimed  (in  the  name  of  maintenance)  money 
which  could  ill  be  spared.6  In  1274,  King  and 
clergy  "with  one  voice  and  one  heart"  refused  a 


1  Book  of  Pluscarden,  vi.,  30,  31. 

2  Jos.  Robertson,  Statuta  Eccl.  Scot.,  i.,  p.  xxxix. 

3  "The  Scots  were  never  tractable  children  of  Rome." — 
Andrew  Lang,  Hist,  of  Sc,  i.,  227. 

^Scotichr.  (Bower),  vi.,  36,  37. 

5  Alexander  II.  is  said  to  have  met  the  legate  of  Pope 
Gregory  IX.  at  York  in  1237,  and  to  have  warned  him  that 
if  he  came  to  Scotland  it  would  be  at  the  risk  of  his  life! 
(Matthew  Paris, Chronica,  in.,  414).  Alexander  III.,  in  1265, 
"  after  consultation  with  the  clergy  of  the  realm,"  refused 
the  "visitation"  of  a  legate  (Scotichr.,  x.,  22). 


Introductory  Survey  7 

papal  demand  for   crusade-tithes1.     During  the 
Wars  of    Scottish    Independence,    opposition   to 
papal  interference  and  disregard  of  Roman  juris- 
diction were  yet  more  notable.     When  Pope  Boni- 
face   VIII.,    in    1302,    denounced    the    patriotic 
hierarchy  of  Scotland  who  had  sympathised  with 
Wallace    as    "abettors  of   disturbance   and  dis- 
cord," 2  the  practical  reply  was  a  more  definite 
espousal   of   the  national  cause  by  the  leading 
clergy.     In  1304,  Lamberton,  the  Bishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  entered  into  a  patriotic  covenant  with 
Robert  Bruce.s  The  Bishop  of  Moray,  with  special 
reference  to  the  periodical  demands  of  the  Roman 
See  for  help  against  the  Moslems,  declared  that 
it  was  as  "meritorious  to  rise  in  arms  against  the 
King  of  England  as  to  engage  in  a  crusade  for 
the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Land."  4     In  1306,  when 
a  papal  excommunication  was  about  to  be  pro- 
nounced at  Rome  upon  Bruce  after  the  slaughter 
of  the  Comyn  in  the  Grey  friars'  Church  of  Dum- 
fries,   Wishart,    Bishop   of  Glasgow,   along  with 
other  clergy,  crowned  the  delinquent  at  Scone. s 
Three  years  later  a  General  Council  of  the  Scottish 
Church  at  Dundee  issued  "to  all  the  faithful  in 


1  Fordun,  Annals,  chap.  lix. 

2  Theiner,  Monumenta,  p.    171;   Bellesheim,  Cath.  Ch.   of 
Sc.  (Blair's  transl.),  ii.,  11. 

3  Hailes,  Annals,  i.,  309. 

4  William  Burns,  Scottish  War  of  Indep.,  ii.,  188. 

5  Hailes,  ii.,  2;  Bellesh.,  ii.,  12.     The  papal  interdict  which 
followed  the  excommunication  was  ignored  (Burns,  ii.,  192). 


8  John  Knox 

Christ"  a  manifesto  in  which  they  render  due 
fealty  to  Bruce  as  "King  of  Scotland,"  declaring 
that  "with  him  the  faithful  of  the  kingdom  will 
live  and  die."  z 

Papal  absolutions  occasionally  met  with  no 
more  respect  in  Scotland  than  papal  bans.  In 
1329,  a  man  charged  with  murder,  whom  the 
Pope  had  absolved,  was  nevertheless  condemned 
and  executed.2  Defiance  of  Rome  in  the  sphere 
of  discipline  was  accompanied  by  resistance  to 
Roman  intrusion  and  extortion  in  the  dispensa- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  patronage.  In  1322,  Pope 
John  XXII.  presented  an  Italian  to  a  Glasgow 
benefice.  King  Robert  Bruce,  with  the  aid  of  the 
bishop  of  the  diocese,  set  aside  the  presentation, 
and  a  Scot  received  the  charge.3  Early  in  the 
fifteenth  century  James  I.  and  his  Parliament 
withstood  the  usurpation  of  Scottish  church  pat- 
ronage by  Rome ;  as  well  as  the  papal  abuse  by 
which  benefices  were  virtually  sold  under  the  pre- 
text of  confirmation  fees  being  exacted.4  The 
support  which  the  King  received  in  this  matter 
from  the  hierarchy  moved  Pope  Eugenius  IV.,  in 
1436,  to  denounce  certain  Scottish  bishops  as 
"Pilates    rather    than    prelates."5      Manifestly, 


1  National  MSS.  of  Sc.,  Part  II.,  No.  XVII. 

2  Scotichr.,  xiii.,  18;  Hailes,  Annals,  ii.,  149. 

3  Reg.  Epis.  Glasg.,  i.,  230. 

*  Acts  of  Pari,  of  Sc,  pp.  6,  16   (year  1424);   Rankine,  in 
Story's  Church  of  Sc,  ii.,  291-292. 

s  Robertson,  Statuta,  i.,  p.  lxxxv. ;  Theiner,  373. 


Introductory  Survey  9 

during  this  period  of  Roman  jurisdiction  the  "  Filia 
specialis ' '  of  the  Roman  See  gave  ample  evidence 
of  her  determination  not  to  be  hampered  by  mater- 
nal leading-strings. 

III.  Scotland  owes  much  to  her  Roman  clergy 
— beautiful  cathedrals  and  abbeys;  a  goodly 
educational  heritage,  and  not  a  few  bright  ex- 
amples of  devotion:  but,  before  the  close  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  Scottish  resistance  to  papal 
aggression  had  begun  to  be  supplemented  by  re- 
sentment at  clerical  demoralisation.  In  the  latter 
part  of  that  century  Christendom  had  been  scan- 
dalised by  the  mutual  anathemas  of  rival  pontiffs 
during  the  period  of  Papal  schism;  and  in  1410 
this  scandal  was  exceeded  by  the  appointment  of 
a  pope — John  XXIII. — whose  flagrant  immorality 
excited  universal  disgust .  Turpitude  in  the  Roman 
See  could  not  but  be  widely  reproduced  among 
the  clergy,  and  in  Scotland  there  were  special 
causes  of  declension.  During  the  long  conflict 
with  England,  church  dignitaries  often  neglected 
their  spiritual  functions  in  order  to  engage  in 
warfare,1  and  set  the  example,  under  pressure,  of 
repeated  breach  of  their  oaths  of  allegiance.2 
The    social     disorganisation,     moreover,     which 

1  The  practice  of  a  portion  of  the  clergy  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  a  synod,  held  during  this  period  at  St. 
Andrews,  considered  it  necessary  to  forbid  priests  to  carry 
about  long  knives  called  "hangers,"  or  to  celebrate  mass 
in  a  short  secular  tunic.      (Robertson,  Statuta,  ii.,  66,  67.) 

2  Burton,  Hist,  of  Sc.,ii.,  258;  Burns,  ii.,  170-171. 


io  John  Knox 

resulted  from  protracted  political  troubles,  under- 
mined clerical  discipline.  This  is  illustrated  by 
the  leniency  with  which  a  Scottish  ecclesiastical 
statute  of  the  fourteenth  century  dealt  with  priestly 
concubinage.  After  a  first,  and  again  after  a 
second  warning  the  transgressor  was  to  be  pun- 
ished with  a  moderate  fine;  only  after  the 
neglect  of  a  third  warning  was  suspension  to  be 
pronounced.1 

King  James  I.,  although  hampered  as  a  church 
reformer  by  his  need  of  help  from  the  clergy 
against  a  turbulent  nobility,  gave  voice  in  1425 
to  the  growing  national  discontent  in  a  remark- 
able letter  of  admonition  to  the  heads  of  monas- 
teries. He  declares  that  the  degeneracy  of  the 
times  is  due  largely  to  the  covetousness  and  car- 
nality of  the  religious  orders ;  exhorts  those  whom 
he  addresses  to  "  manifest  a  holy  strictness" ;  and 
warns  them  that  "where  the  helm  of  discipline  is 
neglected,  nothing  remains  but  the  shipwreck  of 
religion."  2  Bishop  Wardlaw  also,  who  held  the 
See  of  St.  Andrews  under  James  I.,  signalised  his 
episcopate  by  his  "repression  of  many  disorders 
which  had  crept  in  among  the  clergy. "  3  His  suc- 
cessor. Bishop  Kennedy,  was  equally  earnest  in 

1  Robertson,  Statuta,  ii.,  65. 

2  Scotichr.,  xvi.,  32. 

3  Geo.  Martine,  Reliquice  Div.  Andr.,  pp.  230-232  (composed 
in  1683;  but  an  old  MS.  is  quoted).  Dempster  (Hist.  EccL, 
ii.,  660)  states  that  in  his  time  (seventeenth  century)  a  work 
of  Wardlaw  was  extant,  entitled  Reformation  of  the  Clergy. 


Introductory  Survey  n 

his  endeavour  to  remove  ecclesiastical  abuses,  and 
with  this  view  visited  each  parish  in  his  diocese 
four  times  a  year.1  Before  the  close  of  the  fif- 
teenth century,  however,  the  evil  apparently  had 
become  too  deep-seated  for  cure  without  drastic 
treatment.  In  1459,  James  II.  petitioned  the 
Pope  to  suppress  a  monastery  of  Red  Friars  in 
Ayrshire  on  account  of  their  flagrant  and  abomin- 
able immorality.2  A  synodal  Statute  of  St.  An- 
drews during  the  primacy  of  Bishop  Forman 
(15 1 5-1 521)  admits  that  even  the  lenient  laws 
against  clerical  licentiousness  had  not  in  the  past 
been  enforced.3  How,  indeed,  could  such  statutes 
be  effectively  administered  by  ecclesiastical  dig- 
nitaries who  themselves  were  often  heinous  trans- 
gressors ?  4 

To  this  gross  abuse,  which  could  not  but  alienate 
from  the  Church  a  large  proportion  of  the  virtu- 
ous, there  was  added  another  scandal  which 
moved  the  contempt  of  the  intelligent — clerical 
ignorance.  The  story  related  by  Foxe  regarding 
Bishop  Crighton  of  Dunkeld  (consecrated  in  1527), 
whose  learning  was  confined  to  his  breviary  and 
pontifical,  and  who  thanked  God  that  he  ''never 
knew  what  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  were," 
is  probably  legendary;    but  the  very  fact  of  its 

1  Lesley,  Hist,  of  Sc,  p.  37  (Vernac.  ed.);  Spottisw.,  ii.,  33; 
Buchan.,  Hist,  of  Sc,  xii.,  23;  Pitscottie,  Hist,  of  Sc,  p.  no. 

2  Theiner,  421-422. 

3  Robertson,  Statuta,  i.,  p.  cclxxii. 

4  Ibid.,  ii.,  283. 


12  John  Knox 

being  handed  down  as  a  proverbial  testimony  is 
significant.1  The  troubles  of  the  time  are  ex- 
pressly ascribed  by  an  ecclesiastical  council  in  1549 
to  the  "  crass  ignorance,"  along  with  "  moral  cor- 
ruption," prevalent  among  "  clergy  of  all  ranks."  2 
A  suggestive  side-light  is  thrown  on  the  wide-spread 
incapacity  of  the  priesthood  in  the  age  preceding 
the  Reformation  by  the  warning  which  accom- 
panied the  publication  of  Archbishop  Hamilton's 
Catechism  in  1552. 

"Let  rectors,  vicars,  curates  take  care  to  prepare 
themselves  by  daily  repetition  of  the  portion  (of  the 
Catechism)  to  be  read  on  the  next  occasion,  in  order 
that  they  may  not  expose  themselves  to  the  mockery 
of  their  hearers,  by  stammering  or  stumbling."  3 

While  the  virtuous  and  the  intelligent  were 
thus  estranged  from  the  Church  by  the  immoral- 
ity and  ignorance  of  the  ministry,  a  third  scandal 
excited  the  animosity  even  of  the  worldly-minded 
and  the  ill-living — clerical  covetousness.     At  the 

1  Foxe,  Acts  and  Monuments,  v.,  622  (Townsend's  ed.). 
He  states  that  out  of  the  incident  a  proverb  arose  in  Scot- 
land, "Ye  are  like  the  Bishop  of  Dunkeld  that  knew  neither 
old  nor  new  law."  Cf.  Lyndsay,  Satyr e  of  the  Three  Estaites, 
1.  2920-2922,  where  the  "Spirituality"  is  represented  (about 
1535  a.  d.)  as  acknowledging: 

"I  read  never  the  New  Testament  nor  Auld: 
Nor  ever  think  to  do  so  by  the  Rood : 
I  hear  Friars  say  that  reading  does  no  good." 

2  Robertson,  Statuta,  ii.,  81. 

3  Ibid.,  138. 


Introductory  Survey  13 

close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  about  one-half  of 
the  wealth  of  the  kingdom  is  believed  to  have 
been  in  ecclesiastical  hands,1  and  an  impoverished 
or  self-seeking  nobility  and  gentry  were  thus 
tempted  to  become  spoilers  of  the  Church.  Yet 
clerical  greed  continued  to  manifest  itself  in  mul- 
tiplied pluralities  and  ecclesiastical  exactions.  It 
was  common  for  a  bishop  to  supplement  his  ample 
episcopal  income  with  the  revenue  of  one  or  more 
rich  abbacies.  Even  Bishop  Kennedy  was  not 
free  from  this  abuse.2  In  preceding  periods  the 
Church  had  been  endowed  by  the  munificence  of 
the  living;  she  now  enriched  herself  through 
thinly  veiled  plunder  of  the  dying  and  the  dead. 
The  Provincial  Council  held  at  Perth  in  1428  de- 
clared that  bishops  had  the  right  to  confirm  all 
wills  and  to  appoint  executors  for  intestates ;  that 
one-third  of  what  was  left  without  a  will  should 
be  set  apart  mainly  for  funeral  rites  and  subse- 
quent masses ;  and  that  the  service  of  the  bishop 
should  be  requited  with  a  tax  of  twelve  pence 


1  Pinkerton,  Hist,  of  Sc.,  ii.,  415;  Rankine,  in  Story's  Ch. 
of  Sc.,  ii.,  426.  The  Spiritual  Estate  allowed  the  Church  to 
be  burdened  with  one  half  of  any  special  assessment. 

2  Major,  Hist,  of  Greater  Brit.,  vi.,  19.  Dunbar,  in  his 
World's  Instability,  refers  to  bishops  who  held  seven  bene- 
fices. Archbishop  James  Beaton  held  the  Chancellorship  and 
the  Abbacies  of  Dunfermline,  Arbroath,  and  Kilwinning. 
The  scandal  was  often  disguised  under  the  practice  of  ap- 
pointing to  benefices  in  commendam  (i.  e. ,  in  trust) ;  the  ap- 
pointment being  nominally  temporary  (to  supply  a  vacancy), 
but  practically  permanent. 


14  John  Knox 

in  the  pound.1  Among  extortions  which  pressed 
hard  on  the  peasantry  was  the  carrying  off  by 
the  priest  of  the  "upmost  cloth"  or  bed -cover, 
and  also  of  what  was  called  the  "kirk-cow,"  as 
clerical  dues  after  a  death  2 ;  while  Candlemas 
and  Easter  offerings,  fees  for  baptism,  marriage, 
and  other  ceremonies,  clerk-mail,  teind-ale,  and 
other  exactions,  caused  the  priest  to  be  regarded 
as  a  "devourer  of  widows'  houses"  and  a  greedy 
absorber  of  poor  men's  gains.3 

Not  a  Protestant  historian,  but  Lesley,  the  last 
Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  Ross,  thus  describes 
the  ecclesiastical  demoralisation  which  he  dates 
from  the  death  of  Bishop  Kennedy  in  1474.  The 
"secular"  clergy  "fell  from  all  devotion  and  god- 
liness to  the  works  of  wickedness."  "Foul  dis- 
grace infected  monasteries  and  monks  through  all 
Scotland."  "Idleness,  luxury,  and  all  bodily  in- 
dulgence crept  into  religious  houses."  "God's 
service  began  to  be  neglected."  "Through  such 
accumulated  abuses  the  clergy  incurred  the  ha- 
tred of  the  common  people."4     Not  a  Protestant 


1  Robertson,  Statuta,  ii.,  78. 

2  The  "kirk-cow"  was  so  called  from  its  being  regarded  as 
a  recompense  to  the  priest  for  service.  See  Lyndsay  {Satyre 
of  the  Three  Estaites,  vv.  197 1-2000),  where  the  pauper  is 
represented  as  accounting  for  his  "misery"  through  the  vicar 
taking  one  cow  when  his  father  died,  a  second  at  the  death  of 
his  mother,  and  the  third  and  last  after  his  wife's  funeral. 

3  See  First  Book  of  Disc,  vi. ;  Major,  Greater  Brit.,  iii.,  11. 

4  Lesley,  Vernac.  Hist,  of  Sc,  1 436-1 561,  p.  40;  and  his 
larger  Hist,  of  Sc.,  in  Sc.  Text  Soc.'s  ed.,  ii.,  90-91. 


Introductory  Survey  15 

controversialist,  but  the  Romanist,  Ninian  Winzet, 
a  contemporary  and  literary  antagonist  of  Knox, 
candidly  admits  that  the  bishops  and  clergy  in  the 
age  preceding  the  Reformation  were  "  for  the  most 
part"  so  "ignorant  or  vicious,  or  both,"  as  to  be 
"unworthy  the  name  of  pastors." 

"Were  not  the  sacraments  of  Christ  Jesus" — so  he 
addresses  the  prelates  of  his  church — "profaned  by 
ignorant  and  wicked  persons,  neither  able  to  persuade 
to  godliness  by  learning  nor  by  living:  of  the  which 
number  we  confess  the  most  part  of  us  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical state  to  have  been  unworthily  admitted  by 
you  to  the  ministration  thereof." 

Such  scandals  he  declares  to  be  "the  special 
ground  of  all  impiety  and  division  this  day  within 
ye,  O  Scotland!"  ■ 

IV.  Indignation  and  disgust  at  ecclesiastical 
abuses  were  shared  in  Scotland,  as  elsewhere,  by 
many  who  were  quite  satisfied  with  the  Church's 
dogmas ;  but  by  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury the  presence  of  revolt  against  Roman  doc- 
trine is  discernible;  for,  in  1398,  it  was  enacted 
that  the  King  at  his  coronation  should  take  an 
oath  to  put  down  heresy.2 

Although  Scottish  jealousy  of  England  had  been 
developed  and  embittered  by  the  Wars  of  Indepen- 
dence, the  earliest  notable  impulse  to  Protestantism 


1  See  First  Tractate  and  Last  Blast  of  the  Trumpet  (Ninian 
Win zet's  Works,  i.,  5,  44). 

2  Acts  of  Pari,  of  Sc.,'\.,  573,  640. 


16  John  Knox 

in  Scotland  appears  to  have  been  received  from  the 
other  side  of  the  Border.  During  the  period  of 
John  Wyclif's  labours  as  "Doctor  Evangelicus ' ' 
in  Oxford  (i 361-1380)  a  large  number  of  Scots- 
men studied  at  that  university  * ;  and  some  of 
these,  it  may  be  presumed,  came  more  or  less  un- 
der his  reforming  influence.  Within  twenty-two 
years  after  Wyclif's  death  in  1384,  his  doctrine 
was  openly  propagated  in  the  northern  kingdom. 
In  1406,  or  somewhat  earlier,  James  Resby,2  one 
of  those  itinerant  home  missionaries  —  mostly 
priests  3 — whom  the  Reformer  had  organised  in 
1380  as  evangelical  rivals  of  the  degenerate  men- 
dicants, arrived  in  Scotland ;  driven  thither,  per- 
haps, by  persecution  at  home,  or,  more  probably, 
impelled  by  missionary  zeal.  Resby  is  stated  to 
have  denied  the  authority  of  the  reigning  Pope, 
as  well  as  of  any  pontiff  not  personally  holy  4 ; 

1  There  is  evidence  that  in  1365  eighty-one  Scots  were 
students  at  Oxford.  See  T.  M.  Lindsay,  in  "Scot.  Hist. 
Rev.,"  April,  1904,  p.  267. 

2  The  common  misnaming  of  Resby  as  John  (by  Burton, 
Cunningham,  Bellesheim,  Andrew  Lang,  and  others)  appears 
to  be  derived  from  SpottiswoodeCi1/^.  of  Ch.  of  Sc,  p.  56,  orig. 
ed.).  In  the  margin,  however,  of  that  work  the  "heretic"  is 
correctly  called  James,  as  in  the  Scotichronicon,  by  Resby's 
contemporary,  Bower. 

3  Hence  the  name  "poor  priests"  given  to  the  class. 
Resby  was  literally  a  priest  (Scotichr.,  xv.,  20). 

4 Scotichr.,  xv.,  20:  Papa  de  facto  non  Christi  Vicarius. 
The  two  Popes  de  facto,  Benedict  XIII.  and  Gregory  XII., 
were  at  this  time  so  much  estranging  their  own  adherents 
that  preparations  were  being  made  for  the  Council  of  Pisa, 
which  deposed  both. 


Introductory  Survey  17 

and  also  to  have  rejected  compulsory  confession 
and  priestly  absolution;  while  as  a  follower  of 
Wyclif  he  may  be  assumed  to  have  abjured  tran- 
substantiation,  and  to  have  maintained  strenu- 
ously the  supreme  authority  of  Holy  Writ.1 
Bower,  who  was  Resby's  bitter  opponent,  testifies 
to  his  popularity  as  a  preacher  and  to  the  wide- 
spread sympathy  which  his  views  obtained. 
The  most  learned  Scottish  churchman  of  his 
time,  Laurence  of  Lindores,  who  bore  the  title 
of  "Inquisitor  of  Heresy,"  "refuted"  Resby's 
errors;  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities 
united  in  condemning  him  to  the  stake;  but 
through  this  Wycliffite  priest  evangelical  truth 
obtained  a  footing  in  Scotland  which,  notwith- 
standing severe  persecution,  was  never  afterwards 
lost. 

Soon  after  Resby's  martyrdom  the  University 
of  St.  Andrews  was  founded  by  Bishop  Wardlaw, 
who  had  taken  a  leading  part  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  English  preacher.  It  was  expected  that 
this  new  institution  would  be  a  bulwark  of  the 
Church's  faith,  as  well  as  a  training-college  for 
her  clergy.  Yet,  so  early  as  the  year  141 6,  it  was 
found  needful  to  demand  from  all  Masters  of  Arts 
an  oath  against  "the  assault  of  the  Lollards2; 


1  The  Scotichronicon  refers  generally  to  forty  conclusiones 
periculosissimcB  of  Resby. 

2  McCrie,  Life  of  Melville,  p.  405,  where  a  MS.  record  of  the 
University  is  quoted. 


1 8  John  Knox 

and  Wyntoun,  writing  about  1420,  bears  witness 
to  the  prevalence  of  "heresy"  at  that  time  when 
he  speaks  of  Regent  Albany  as  a  man  who 

"All  Lollard  hated  and  heretic."  J 

In  1422  a  "heretic"  was  burnt  at  Glasgow2:  and 
two  years  later  the  Scottish  Parliament  passed  an 
Act  enjoining  bishops  to  search  for  Lollards 
through  the  "inquisitores,"  with  a  view  to  their 
punishment  by  the  secular  power.3 

To  the  diffusion  of  Wycliffite  views  in  Scotland 
was  added  ere  long  the  propagation  of  kindred 
Hussite  heresy.4  In  1433,5  Paul  Crawar,  a  phy- 
sician from  Prague  and  disciple  of  John  Hus, 
settled  in  St.  Andrews  and  gathered  many  ad- 
herents. He  taught  them  to  renounce  tran- 
substantiation,  purgatory,  saint-"  worship,"  and 
priestly  absolution,  as  well  as  to  study  for  them- 

1  Orig.  Cronykil,  ix.,  2773. 

2  Knox,  Hist,  of  Ref.,  i.,  5  (Laing's  ed.). 

3  Acts  of  Par.  of  Sc,  ii.,  7 ;   Robertson,  Statuta,  i.,  p.  lxxix. 

4  Intercourse  between  England  and  Bohemia  had  become 
considerable  at  this  time,  owing  (1)  to  King  Richard  II. 's  mar- 
riage, in  1382,  to  Anne  of  Bohemia,  who  embraced  Wycliffite 
views;  (2)  to  Bohemian  students  (including  Jerome  of  Prague, 
the  future  martyr)  being  attracted  to  Oxford  by  the  fame  of 
its  teachers,  and  English  students  similarly  to  Prague.  Ox- 
ford University  provided  a  link  between  Bohemia  and  Scot- 
land. 

s  So  Bower,  Scotichr.,  xvi.,  20;  Knox  (H.  of  R.,  i.,  6)  gives 
the  date  as  1431. 


Introductory  Survey  19 

selves  Holy  Writ.1  Again  the  now  aged  Laurence 
of  Lindores  (who  had  become  one  of  the  original 
professors  at  St.  Andrews  University)  confronts 
the  heretic  whose  "expertness  in  biblical  know- 
ledge and  quotation"  Bower  candidly  acknow- 
ledges. Again,  the  civil  power,  now  personally 
administered  by  the  restored  King,  endorses  the 
ecclesiastical  condemnation.  Crawar  was  burned 
in  1433;  but  the  ball  of  brass  put  into  the  mar- 
tyr's mouth  at  the  stake  to  intercept  his  dying 
testimony,  could  not  prevent  the  diffusion  of  the 
truth  which  he  had  boldly  propagated  in  the  re- 
ligious metropolis  of  Scotland.2 

History  is  silent  for  sixty  years  after  Crawar's 
death  regarding  the  progress  of  Reformed  belief.3 
Bishop  Kennedy's  reforming  activity,  outside  the 
sphere  of  doctrine,  may  have  led  to  temporary 
decline  of  sympathy  with  movements  against 
Rome  of  a  more  radical  character.  Notwithstand- 
ing hierarchical  repression,  however,  or  diminution 
of  popular  support,  the  revolt  against  Roman  dog- 
ma must  have  continued;  for  in  1494  it  reappears 


1  Scotichr.,  I.  c;  Bellesh.,  Cath.  Ch.  of  Sc,  ii.,  56,  57. 
Crawar  went  beyond  Hus  and  followed  Wyclif  in  rejecting 
transubstantiation.  Bower's  statement  that  Crawar's  sect 
denied  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and  held  communistic 
views  is  not  confirmed  by  other  authority. 

2  Knox,  H.pf  R.,i.,  6. 

3  Archbishop  Graham,  indeed,  was  deposed  in  i478>  partly 
for  "heresy"  (Theiner,  Monutn.,  480-481),  but  this  charge 
seems  to  have  referred  to  fanatical  pretensions,  which  suggest 
insanity  (Bellesh.,  ii.,  93). 


20  John  Knox 

on  the  surface  of  history.  In  that  year  thirty 
persons,  belonging  to  different  parts  of  Ayrshire, 
several  being  men  and  women  of  high  social  posi- 
tion, were  summoned  before  the  King  and  his 
Privy  Council,  at  the  instance  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Glasgow,  to  answer  the  charge  of  "  Lollardism." l 
These  thirty  were  probably  prominent  representa- 
tives of  considerable  communities:  for  Knox  de- 
scribes the  district  as  "  an  ancient  receptacle  of  the 
people  of  God. ' '  The  strong  hold  over  the  country 
which  Wyclimte  views  had  obtained  since  Cra war's 
time  is  significantly  indicated  by  the  procedure  at 
the  Council.  Not  only  was  no  penalty  inflicted  on 
the  accused,  but  their  spokesman,  Adam  Reid  of 
Barskimming,  was  allowed  to  turn  the  tables  on 
his  archiepiscopal  prosecutor,  and  to  charge  him 
and  his  fellow  prelates  with  forgetting  their 
divine  commission,  which  was  "to  preach  Christ's 
Evangel  and  not  to  play  the  proud  prelates." 

About  the  time  of  this  notable  trial  a  poem  was 
written  by  Walter  Kennedy,  In  Praise  of  Aigey 
containing  these  significant  lines : 

"The  Schip  of  Faith  tempestuous  wind  and  rain 
Dry  vis  in  the  sea  of  Lollerdry  that  blawis."  2 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  12.  An  interesting  relic  of  these 
Lollards  of  Ayrshire  was  published  in  1901  by  Dr.  T.  Graves 
Law,  viz.,  a  MS.  of  Wyclif's  New  Testament  "turned  into 
Scots  by  Mordoch  Nisbet,"  of  Loudoun,  near  Kilmarnock, 
whose  "eyes  were  opened  to  see  the  vanity  and  evil  of  Pop- 
ery, some  time  before  the  year  1500  "  (N.  T.  in  Scots,  p.  x.). 

2  G.  Bannatyne,  Ancient  Scottish  Poems,  p.  258. 


Introductory  Survey  21 

No  doubt  even  in  that  age  there  were  men,  like 
Bishop  Elphinstone  of  Aberdeen,  who  adorned 
their  ecclesiastical  office  by  blameless  life  and 
beneficent  service.  But  amid  the  discreditable 
ignorance,  vitiated  doctrine,  licentious  laxity,  and 
disreputable  greed  of  a  large  proportion  of  the 
"kirkmen"  who  at  this  period  manned  the  vessel 
of  "Holy  Church,"  the  shipwreck  not  only  of 
Church,  but  of  faith,  appeared  imminent.  Yet 
the  darkest  hour  is  that  which  comes  before  the 
dawn;  and  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  sixteenth 
century  came  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day  for 
Scotland  and  for  Christendom. 


CHAPTER  I 

BIRTH      AND     EDUCATION     OF     KNOX — EARLY     RE- 
LIGIOUS   ENVIRONMENT   AND    ECCLESIASTICAL 
POSITION 

1513  (or  i5o5)-i543 

JOHN  KNOX  was  born  at  or  near  Haddington 
early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  but  the  year 
of  his  birth  is  uncertain,  the  month  and  day 
are  unknown,  and  pilgrims  to  his  birthplace  find 
themselves  confronted  with  diversity  of  opinion 
as  to  its  location. 

I.  Two  contemporaries  of  the  Reformer — Sir 
Peter  Young,  by  1579  a  citizen  of  Edinburgh,  and 
Theodore  Beza  of  Geneva,  a  personal  friend  of 
Knox — indicate  by  their  statements  regarding  his 
age  at  death  that  he  was  born  at  some  time  be- 
tween the  24th  November,  1513,  and  the  24th 
November,  1515.1     The  traditional  date,  on  the 

1  Young  (who  shared  with  George  Buchanan  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  education  of  James  VI.),  in  a  letter  to  Beza, 
dated  November,  1579,  writes  that  Knox  died  in  his  fifty- 
ninth  year  (see  Hume  Brown,  Life  of  John  Knox,  ii.,  323). 
Beza  (Jcones  Illust.Virorum,  Ee  iii.)  states  that  the  Reformer 
died  "after  having  attained  to  the  age  of  fifty-seven." 

22 


[1513-1543]  Early  Years  23 

other  hand,  is  1505.  It  rests  almost  entirely  on 
the  authority  of  Archbishop  Spottiswoode,  who 
wrote  the  History  containing  his  testimony  about 
half  a  century  after  the  Reformer's  death.1  Some 
apparent  confirmation  of  Spottiswoode's  state- 
ment is  afforded  by  the  fact  that  a  John  Knox 
entered  the  University  of  Glasgow  in  October, 
1522  2,  when  John  Major,  under  whom,  according 
to  Beza,  Knox  studied,  occupied  a  chair  in  that 
seat  of   learning.      But  the   University  Register 


1  Spottiswoode,  Hist,  of  the  Ch.,  ii.,  180  (edition  1850). 
The  same  statement  is  made  by  David  Buchanan  in  his  Life 
and  Death  of  John  Knox  (pp.  1,7),  prefixed  to  his  edition  of 
Knox's  History  of  the  Reformation.  Buchanan's  work  was 
published  in  1644,  five  years  after  Spottiswoode's  death,  but 
eleven  years  before  the  latter's  History  of  the  Church  was 
given  to  the  world.  The  two  testimonies,  however,  are  not, 
as  is  often  assumed,  independent  of  each  other:  for  inter- 
nal evidence  suggests  that  Buchanan  had  access  to  Spottis- 
woode's unpublished  MS.  before  writing  his  own  account  of 
Knox.  For  example:  (a)  both  authors  speak  of  Knox  as 
born  in  GifTord  of  "honest  parentage";  (b)  Buchanan's 
statement  that  "under  Master  John  Mair,  a  man  very  famous 
for  his  learning,"  Knox  became  so  proficient  that  he  was 
"advanced  to  Church  orders  before  the  time  usually  allowed," 
is  an  obvious  repetition  of  Spottiswoode's  assertion  (ii.,  180) 
that  "he  [Knox]  made  such  profit  in  his  studies  under  that 
famous  Doctor,  Mr.  John  Mair,  as  he  was  held  worthy  to 
enter  into  orders  before  the  years  allowed";  (c)  when  Bu- 
chanan writes,  "He  betook  himself  to  the  reading  of  the 
ancients,  especially  of  Augustine,"  and  "was  exceedingly 
solaced,"  he  seems  to  echo  Spottiswoode's  testimony,  "by 
reading  the  ancients,  especially  the  works  of  St.  Austin,  he 
was  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth." 

2  Munimenta  Univ.  Glasg.,  ii.,  147. 


24  John  Knox  [I5I3_ 

shews  that  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies about  forty  Knoxes  (of  whom  eight  are 
called  John)  were  students  at  Glasgow * ;  and 
Beza  (followed  here  by  David  Buchanan)  states 
distinctly  that  Knox  was  under  Major  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  St.  Andrews,  where  the  latter  held  office 
from  1 523-1 525,  and  from  1531  to  1 549-50. 2 
Until  the  discovery,  moreover,  by  Dr.  McCrie, 
about  a  century  ago,  of  the  entry  in  the  aca- 
demic Register  at  Glasgow,  Knox's  alleged  con- 
nection with  the  university  there  appears  never 
to  have  been  suggested  by  any  writer.  On  the 
whole,  while  the  date  of  the  Reformer's  birth 
remains  a  subject  of  controversy,  it  appears  to  be 
most  probable,  in  accordance  with  our  earliest 
authority  on  the  point,  that  he  was  born  at  the 


1  Munimenta  Univ.  Glasg.,  ii.  and  iii. 

2  JEne&s  Mackay,  Life  of  Major  (prefixed  to  translation 
of  the  latter's  Greater  Britain),  pp.  lxx.,  ciii.,  civ.  The  ab- 
sence of  Knox's  name  from  the  Matriculation  Roll  at  St. 
Andrews  is  by  no  means  conclusive  against  his  having 
been  a  student  of  the  university  there.  Dr.  Hay  Fleming 
has  pointed  out  (in  a  letter  to  the  "Scotsman"  of  date  27th 
May,  1904)  that  the  matriculation  records  are  manifestly 
defective.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Maitland  Anderson,  the 
scholarly  University  Librarian,  who  is  preparing  the  aca- 
demic Registers  for  publication,  the  present  writer  has  been 
able  to  examine  the  portion  of  the  records  referring  to  the 
years  1511-1532.  The  existence  of  lacuna  is  obvious.  In 
1529,  for  example,  when  Knox  might  very  well  have  entered 
the  university,  if  he  was  born  in  15 13,  only  three  "incor- 
porations "  are  recorded,  as  compared  with  about  forty  in 
the  year  preceding  and  in  the  year  following. 


i543]  Early  Years  25 

close   of   the    year    15 13,    or    in    the   course    of 

II.  In  a  hamlet  called  Giffordgate,  adjacent  to 
Haddington,  within  the  bounds  of  the  parish,  and 
near  the  ancient  parish  church,  although  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  Tyne,  there  stands  a  memor- 
ial oak  tree  planted  by  direction  of  Thomas  Car- 
lyle.  A  tablet  beside  the  tree  bears  the  inscription, 
''Near  this  stood  the  house  in  which  was  born 
John  Knox."  The  local  tradition,  accepted  by 
Carlyle,  was  referred  to  as  old  in  1785.2  In  its 
favour  is  the  fact  that,  when  Knox  was  admitted 
as  a  burgess  of  Geneva,  he  was  registered  as  "a 
native  of  Haddington,"  3  and  that  he  is  so  desig- 
nated by  his  contemporary  detractor,  Archibald 
Hamilton.4  This  site  is  also  consistent  with  the 
description  of  the  Reformer  by  Beza  and  Spottis- 
woode  as  a  GifTord  man  5 ;  for  Giffordgate,  which 
was  part  of  the  estate  of  the  Girlords  of  East 
Lothian,  is  repeatedly  referred  to,  in  ancient  local 

1  See  Additional  Note  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 

2  By  the  Rev.  Dr.  George  Barclay,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland  (see  Trans,  of  Soc.  of  Ant., 
i.,  69).  The  genuineness  of  the  site  was  afterwards  vin- 
dicated by  Mr.  John  Richardson  (Proceed,  of  the  Soc.  of  Ant. 
of  Scot.,  hi.  52-55,),  and  it  has  been  accepted  by  Dr.  David 
Laing  (Works  of  Knox,  vi.,  p.  xviii.),  Prof.  A.  F.  Mitchell 
(Scott.  Ref.,  79),  Dr.  Hay  Fleming  (O.  S.  Mag.  1889)  and 
others. 

3  See  Registre  des  Bourgeois  of  Geneva. 

4  De  Confusione  Calv.  Sector  apud  Scotos,  p.  64. 

5  Beza  refers  to  Knox  as  ' '  Giff ordiensis  "  (Icones);  Spottis- 
woode,  as  "born  in  Gifford"  (Hist,  of  Ch.,  ii.,  180). 


26  John  Knox  [i5i3- 

documents  of  the  fifteenth  century,  not  as  a 
mere  "gate"  or  roadway,  but  as  a  district  of 
land.1 

The  question  has  not  been  decisively  settled ;  for 
the  testimony  in  favour  of  Giffordgate  is  not 
ancient  enough  to  command  universal  acceptance.2 
Something  may  be  said  for  the  village  of  Gifford, 
four  miles  from  Haddington — the  site  favoured 
by  Dr.  McCrie  in  his  Life  of  John  Knox.  The 
adoption  of  this  site  as  Knox's  birthplace  would 
account  most  satisfactorily  for  the  language  of 
Beza  and  Spottiswoode.  But  the  absence  of  any 
village  of  that  name  in  detailed  maps  and  descrip- 
tions of  the  seventeenth  century  3  is  an  objection 
which  can  hardly  be  surmounted,  unless  evidence 
come  to  light  of  a  more  ancient  Gifford  hamlet 
which,  in  the  interval  between  the  time  of  Knox 


i  See  local  charter  of  1427,  transferring  by  excambion  "the 
fourth  part  of  Yester,  Duncanlaw,  Morham  and  Giffordgate," 
and  also  a  confirmatory  charter,  dated  1 441,  in  similar  terms. 

2  Two  instruments  of  sasine,  indeed,  dated  1607  and  161 1, 
describe  certain  "butts"  of  land  in  Giffordgate  as  bounded 
by  lands  called  "Knox's  Walls";  so  that  before  1607  the 
name  of  Knox  was  associated  with  the  locality.  Richardson 
and  others  adduce  this  fact  as  evidence  of  the  antiquity  of 
the  testimony  to  the  Giffordgate  site.  But  such  connexion 
of  the  name  of  Knox  with  the  district  is  not  decisive ;  for  the 
name  was  common  in  East  Lothian;  and  the  association  of 
Knoxes  with  Giffordgate  might  be  held  to  have  given  rise 
to  the  tradition  of  the  Reformer's  birth  there. 

3  Pont's  map  of  the  county  made  in  the  time  of  Charles  I. 
(see  Chalmers's  Caledonia,  iv.,  535;  ed.,  1889),  and  Moni- 
pennie's  Scots  Chronicles. 


env**i 


I543]  Early  Years  27 

and  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  had  become  extinct.1 
A  claim  may  also  be  advanced  in  favour  of  Mor- 
ham,  four  miles  from  Haddington — the  site  pre- 
ferred by  Dr.  Hume  Brown.2  Morham  was  within 
Haddington  constabulary ;  so  that  a  parishioner  of 
the  former  might  consider  himself  to  be  "of  Had- 
dington . "  In  the  fourteenth  century,  the  Morham 
estate  came  through  marriage  into  the  possession 
of  the  Giffords;  and  it  is  inferred  by  those  who 
favour  this  site  that  the  lands  acquired  might,  in 
consequence,  come  to  be  known  as  Gifford.  The 
birth  of  Knox  in  Morham,  moreover,  would  ac- 
count most  adequately  for  the  Reformer's  appar- 
ent acknowledgment  of  the  Earls  of  Bothwell  as 
entitled  to  receive  feudal  service  from  his  family  3 ; 
for  in  1 490-1  half  of  the  Morham  property  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  Bothwells  4 ;  whereas  Giff ord- 
gate  does  not  appear  ever  to  have  been  theirs.5 

1  The  case  for  Gifford  village  has  been  well  stated  by 
the  late  Mr.  Kerr,  minister  of  Yester,  in  a  pamphlet  entitled 
Where  was  Knox  Born?  He  and  Dr.  McCrie,  however, 
wrote  before  attention  had  been  called  to  the  omission  of  the 
village  from  ancient  maps. 

2  Life  of  John  Knox,  i.,  10. 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  323,  where  he  states  that  his  "grand- 
father, goodshir  [mother's  father]  and  father  had  served 
under  the  Bothwells";  and  he  adds,  "This  was  part  of  the 
obligation  of  our  Scottish  Kyndness." 

4  There  is  a  charter  in  Register  House,  Edinburgh,  record- 
ing a  grant  to  this  effect  by  James  IV.  to  Patrick,  Earl  of 
Bothwell,  and  to  his  heirs. 

s  The  facts  and  arguments  favourable  to  Morham  have 
been  presented  by  Mr.  David  Louden,  formerly  schoolmaster 


28  John  Knox  [i5i3- 

Against  these  considerations,  however,  must  be 
placed  not  only  the  lack  of  evidence  that  Morham 
ever  was  called  Gifford,  but  positive  testimony  to 
its  retention  of  the  original  name  long  after  its 
conveyance  to  the  Gifford  family :  for,  as  we  have 
seen,  local  charters  of  the  fifteenth  century  refer 
to  the  estate  as  "  Morham."  It  is  highly  improb- 
able, therefore,  that  any  native  of  Morham  would 
speak  of  himself  on  that  account  as  "born  in 
Gifford.' '  The  "  obligation  of  Scottish  Kyndness, ' ' 
on  the  part  of  Knox's  father  and  grandfather,  to 
follow  the  Bothwell  standard  may  have  been 
based  on  the  fact  that  the  Earls  of  Bothwell  had 
been  for  three  generations  sheriffs  of  the  county ; 
the  phrase  being  fairly  understood  not  in  the 
technical  sense  of  feudal  allegiance,  but  in  the 
more  general  meaning  of  dutiful  loyalty,  arising 
out  of  close  relationship  combined  with  territorial 
subordination.  On  the  whole,  Giffordgate  is  the 
site  for  which  most  and  against  which  least  can 

of  the  parish,  in  History  of  Morham  (1889),  pp.  34-51.  In 
addition  to  what  is  stated  above,  he  draws  attention  to  the 
indisputable  fact  that  Morham  was  a  habitation  of  Knoxes. 
Nine  old  tombstones  in  the  parish  churchyard  commemo- 
rate persons  of  that  name,  the  oldest  dating  back  to  1660. 
Giffordgate,  however,  with  its  "Knox's  Walls,"  may  also 
claim  to  be  an  abode  of  members  of  the  clan  (see  note,  p. 
26).  Mr.  Louden  adduces,  further,  the  oral  testimony  of  an 
old  man,  Nelson,  born  about  1800,  who  remembered  his 
grandfather  pointing  out  a  spot  in  the  parish  which  in  his 
(i.  e.,  the  grandfather's)  boyhood  was  spoken  of  as  John 
Knox's  birthplace :  but  in  favour  of  Giffordgate  a  similar 
local  tradition  has  existed. 


i543]  Early  Years  29 

be  urged;     and    Carlyle's   oak    still   "holds   the 

field."1 

III.  John  Knox's  parentage,  although  not  dis- 
tinguished, was  respectable.  "  Descendit  but  of 
lineage  small"  is  the  testimony  of  a  personal 
friend  and  admirer,  John  Davidson  of  Preston- 
pans.2  The  Reformer's  father,  William,  and  both 
his  grandfathers  served,  as  we  have  seen,  under 
Earls  of  Bothwell;  and  two  of  these  died  under 
the  standard  of  that  family.  This  was  probably 
on  what  Knox  describes  as  "that  unhappy  field" 
of  Flodden,  in  1 513;  for  an  Earl  of  Bothwell  was 
slain  in  the  battle,  with  most  of  his  followers,  in  a 
gallant  attempt  to  retrieve  the  fortunes  of  the 
day.3  Of  the  Reformer's  mother  all  that  we  cer- 
tainly know  is  that  her  name  was  Sinclair — a  name 
which  Knox  occasionally  used  for  concealment  in 
times  of  trouble  4 ;  but  she  may  have  been  re- 
lated to  Marion  Sinclair,  wife  of  George  Ker  of 
Samuelston,  for  whom  Knox  acted  repeatedly  as 

1  The  writer  is  indebted  for  information  regarding  ancient 
documents  connected  with  Haddington,  and  also  for  several 
suggestions  embodied  in  this  paragraph,  to  Dr.  J.  G.  Wallace- 
James,  Provost  of  Haddington,  whose  archaeological  research- 
work  regarding  the  charters  of  the  burgh  is  well  known. 

2  In  his  Breif  Commendation  of  Uprichtness,  Stanza 
xiv.,  reprinted  as  an  appendix  to  McCrie's  Life  of  John 
Knox.  Archibald  Hamilton  describes  the  Reformer  as  ob- 
scuris  natus  parentibus  (De  Conf.  Calv.  Sectae,  p.  64).  Had 
there  been  anything  discreditable  in  Knox's  parentage, 
Hamilton  would  have  stated  it. 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  313;   Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  p.  xvi. 

4  Laing,  iv.,  245. 


30  John  Knox  [IS13- 

notary,  and  whose  daughter  married  the  second 
Lord  Home,  Chancellor  of  Scotland.  On  his 
mother's  side,  therefore,  the  Reformer  may  have 
been  well  connected.1  We  know  of  only  one 
brother  of  John  Knox, — William, — who  became  a 
merchant  of  considerable  standing  at  Preston 
(East  Lothian),  and  was  the  father  of  three  sons 
who  became  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.2 
IV.  At  the  period  of  Knox's  birth  and  boy- 
hood, Haddington  was  a  prosperous  burgh.  Its 
position,  indeed,  on  one  of  the  main  roads  leading 
from  England  to  Edinburgh,  had  exposed  it  re- 
peatedly to  English  ravage  and  incendiarism :  but 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  in  the  surrounding  district 
enabled  the  town  always  to  rise  out  of  its  ashes 
into  renewed  prosperity.  It  was  already  distin- 
guished as  the  birthplace  of  King  Alexander 
II.,  in  1 198,  and  of  the  historian,  Walter  Bower, 
in  1385.  Haddington  was  a  notable  ecclesiastical 
centre.  About  a  mile  east  of  the  town  stood  a 
Cistercian  Abbey,  founded  in   11 70  by  Ada,  the 


1  Laing.,  vi.,  p.  xv. ;   Proceedings  of  Soc.  of  Antiq.,  iii.,  67. 

2  Rogers,  Geneal.  Memoirs  of  John  Knox,  pp.  60-70.  In 
the  Record  Office  there  is  a  letter  from  Regent  Arran  to 
Edward  VI.,  dated  Feb.,  1552,  and  seeking  "letters  of  safe 
conduct"  for  "our  lovit  William  Knox  in  Prestoun";  and  in 
Sept.  1552,  he  received  liberty  to  trade  in  any  part  of  Eng- 
land. His  eldest  son,  William,  became  minister  of  Cockpen 
(Midlothian)  in  1567;  the  second  son,  Paul,  of  Kelso  in  1574; 
the  youngest,  John,  was  minister  successively  of  Lauder  and 
of  Melrose  between  1576  and  1623,  and  signalised  himself  by 
opposition  to  episcopacy  and  to  the  Five  Articles  of  Perth. 


I543]  Early  Years  31 

mother  of  William  the  Lion.1  Within  the  burgh 
itself  was  a  church,  consecrated  to  the  Virgin,  old 
enough  to  have  been  mentioned  in  1134;  three 
chapels  dedicated  respectively  to  St.  John,  St. 
Catherine,  and  St.  Anne;  a  chapel  of  St.  Martin 
on  the  east  of  the  Nungate,  whose  ruins  remain; 
and  a  church  and  monastery  belonging  to  the 
Blackfriars.2  Chief  of  all  was  a  church  of  the 
Grey  friars,  dating  from  the  thirteenth  century 
— the  "Lamp  of  Lothian,"  of  which  the  present 
parish  church  by  the  riverside,  with  ruined  choir, 
but  with  nave  still  used  for  worship,  is  in  part  a 
survival. 3  Educationally,  as  well  as  ecclesiastic- 
ally, Haddington  was  well  equipped.  It  had  a 
grammar  school,  at  which  Walter  Bower  pro- 
bably, and  the  more  illustrious  John  Major,  cer- 
tainly, had  received  their  education.4  At  this 
institution,  even  if  his  birthplace  was  a  few  miles 


1  Wyntoun,  Orig.  Cronyk.,  vii.,  960. 

2  Barclay,  Trans,  of  Soc.  of  Ant.,  i.,  64-66;  Chalmers, 
Caledonia,  iv.,  515. 

3D.  Miller,  Lamp  of  Lothian,  pp.  377-385.  The  name 
was  given  to  the  edifice  either  from  its  architectural  beauty, 
or  from  the  tower  being  visible  from  afar  by  travellers,  or 
from  the  moral  illumination  which  the  church  imparted. 
The  ground  adjoining  the  churchyard  is  still  called  "Friars' 
Croft." 

4  In  the  dedication  of  his  treatise  on  Book  IV.  of  Lom- 
bard's Sentences,  Major  refers  to  Haddington  as  "the  town 
which  fostered  the  beginnings  of  my  own  studies,  and  in 
whose  kindly  embraces  I  was  carried  on  in  my  education 
to  a  pretty  advanced  age."  See  ;£neas  Mackay's  transla- 
tion of  Major's  Greater  Britain,  p.  xxxii. 


32  John  Knox  [i5i3- 

distant,  Knox  acquired,  we  may  presume,  his 
facility  in  speaking  and  writing  Latin. 

V.  There  is  no  evidence  that  during  Knox's 
boyhood  the  Reformation  had  extended  to  Had- 
dington, where  even  in  1546  the  movement  met 
with  a  cold  reception  x;  but  if  the  year  1 513-14 
be  accepted  as  the  date  of  the  Reformer's  birth, 
he  must  have  heard  something,  before  leaving 
school  for  university,  of  the  great  religious  ques- 
tion of  the  time.  The  degeneracy  of  the  Francis- 
cans, who  held  the  chief  place,  ecclesiastically,  in 
the  town,  had  been  satirised  by  William  Dunbar 
and  David  Lyndsay,  both  connected  with  East 
Lothian.2  By  1525,  the  circulation  of  Lutheran 
books  and  tracts  in  Scotland  had  become  so  no- 
torious that  the  subject  was  brought  before  Par- 
liament 3 ;  and  in  the  following  year  copies  of 
Tyndale's  English  New  Testament  found  their 
way  to  seaports  on  the  east  of  Scotland.4 

In  1527,  while  John  Knox  would  be  still  at 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  I,  136-138. 

2  Dunbar's  Visitation  of  St.  Francis,  and  the  Friars  of 
Berwick,  usually  attributed  to  him,  were  written  early  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  His  connection  by  birth  with  East 
Lothian  is  mentioned  by  himself  in  his  Flyting,  line  no. 
Lyndsay's  earliest  printed  satire  against  the  clergy  and 
religious  orders  (the  Papyngo)  was  published  about  1530; 
but  as  he  was  born  in  1490,  and  his  father  had  an  estate 
two  miles  from  Haddington,  he  was  doubtless  locally  notable 
before  1530  for  his  exposure  of  clerical  immorality. 

3  Acts  of  Pari,  of  Sc,  ii.,  295 ;  Lorimer,  Scott.  Ref.,  pp.  2,  3. 

4  A.  F.  Mitchell,  Scott.  Ref.,  p.  23. 


i543]  Early  Years  33 

school,  or,  if  the  traditional  date  of  his  birth  be 
adhered  to,  a  student  preparing  for  the  priest- 
hood, the  brief  ministry  was  inaugurated  of  a 
leading  pioneer  of  the  Scottish  Reformation — 
Patrick  Hamilton,  the  son  of  a  Linlithgowshire 
knight,  and  a  kinsman  of  the  noble  families  of  Ham- 
ilton and  Albany.  He  preached  at  St.  Andrews, 
in  the  spring  of  1527,  the  Lutheran  doctrine  which 
he  had  imbibed  at  Paris  under  Lefevre,  and  had 
afterwards  studied  more  fully  in  Luther's  own 
controversial  tracts.  The  Primate,  James  Beaton, 
was  not  anxious  to  come  into  conflict  with  a  repre- 
sentative of  two  powerful  families:  yet  he  dared 
not  incur  the  suspicion  of  countenancing  heresy. 
He  sent,  accordingly,  to  Hamilton  a  citation  to 
appear,  which  was  probably  intended,  and  at  any 
rate  was  accepted,  as  a  warning  to  disappear. 
During  the  greater  part  of  the  year  1527  Hamilton 
lived  at  Marburg  in  Hesse,  under  the  potent  pro- 
tection of  Landgrave  Philip.  He  signalised  his 
Protestantism  there  by  the  publication  of  a  series 
of  theses  on  Justification,  which  were  afterwards 
eulogised  by  Fryth,  the  English  martyr,  as  contain- 
ing the  "  pith  of  all  Divinity."  J  Late  in  the  au- 
tumn he  returned  to  Scotland,  fortified  by  further 
study  of  Reformed  doctrine,  as  well  as  by  inter- 
course with  Protestant  divines.  He  resolved  now, 
at  whatever  risk,  to  vindicate  the  truth  in  which 


1  Foxe,  iv.,  563.     The  theses  are  embodied  by  Knox  in  his 
H.  of  R.,  i.,  21-35. 

3 


34  John  Knox  [i5i3- 

he  believed.  To  crowded  congregations  in  Lin- 
lithgow he  preached  the  evangelical  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith.  The  Primate  refrained  at 
first  from  renewing  the  former  citation.  He  in- 
vited the  young  Reformer  to  a  friendly  conference 
and  treated  him  at  the  outset  with  conciliation,  in 
the  hope,  doubtless,  that  he  would  be  induced  to 
retrace  his  steps.  When  this  expectation  proved 
vain,  Hamilton  was  ensnared  into  such  a  definite 
declaration  of  his  views  as  sufficed  to  bring  home 
to  him  the  charge  of  heresy.  The  old  summons 
was  then  reissued  l  and  was  boldly  faced.  A  single 
day  witnessed  his  trial,  condemnation,  and  mar- 
tyrdom. At  the  stake  he  prayed  that  God  would 
open  the  eyes  of  his  fellow-citizens;  and  when 
unable  any  longer  to  speak  he  held  up  his  half- 
burnt  hand,  in  response  to  the  appeal  of  a  sym- 
pathetic bystander, — as  a  token  of  steadfast  faith.2 
VI.  It  was  a  common  saying  at  the  time  that 
the  "reek  of  Patrick  Hamilton  infected  as  many 
as  it  blew  upon  " ;  and  we  can  hardly  imagine  that 
Knox,  who  reports  this  saying,  was  himself  en- 

i  The  citation  is  given  in  full  by  Prof.  Mitchell  in  his 
Scottish  Reformation,  App.  B.  Among  the  charges  against 
Hamilton  were  (i)  denial  of  any  reward  of  salvation  for  good 
works — a  misrepresentation  of  his  doctrine  of  justification; 

(2)  repudiation  of  image- (worship)  and  prayers  for  the  dead; 

(3)  assertion  that  tithes  were  not  exigible,  sacraments  in 
themselves  not  reliable,  and  Church  censures  not  authorita- 
tive. 

2  Alesius  (Hamilton's  friend),  Comm.  on  Psalm  xxxvii.; 
Lorimer,  Patrick  Hamilton,  Appendix  2. 


1543]  Early  Years  35 

tirely  unaffected.1  If  he  became  a  student  at  St. 
Andrews  in  1529,  the  memory  of  Hamilton  would 
still  be  fresh  in  the  city:  even  if  he  entered  the 
university  a  year  or  two  later,  the  impression 
would  not  have  become  faint.  The  following 
warm  words  in  Knox's  History  have  the  appear- 
ance of  a  personal  reminiscence : 

"When  those  cruel  wolves  had,  as  they  supposed, 
clean  devoured  their  prey,  they  found  themselves  in 
worse  case  than  they  were  before:  for  then,  within 
St.  Andrews,  yea  almost  within  the  whole  realm, 
there  was  none  found  who  began  not  to  enquire 
wherefore  was  Master  Patrick  Hamilton  burnt  ?  And 
so,  within  short  space  many  began  to  call  in  doubt 
that  which  they  held  for  a  certain  verity."  2 

During  the  seventeen  years,  however,  which  fol- 
lowed Hamilton's  martyrdom,  there  is  no  evidence 
of  Knox  having  said  or  done  anything  which  in- 
volved adherence  to  the  cause  for  which  Hamilton 
died.  He  refrained,  indeed,  from  taking  his  de- 
gree as  "Magister  Artium,"  not  improbably  on 
account  of  the  oath  against  "  Lollardism"  which 
the  university  demanded  from  its  "Masters." 3 
It  appears  also,  as  already  has  been  incidentally 
indicated,  that  at  this  period  (possibly  under 
the  influence  of  Gavin  Logie,  Principal  of  St. 
Leonard's  College)  Knox  became  a  student  of  the 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  42. 

2  Ibid.,  36. 

3  See  page  1 7 


36  John  Knox  [1513- 

ancient  Fathers,  especially  of  St.  Augustine,  from 
whom  he  would  learn  to  crave  for  a  more  script- 
ural theology  than  the  Church  then  supplied.1  At 
some  date,  however,  prior  to  December,  1540,  he 
was  ordained  as  a  priest  of  the  Church  of  Rome  2 ; 
and  in  1543  he  is  found  signing  himself  a  "Minis- 
ter of  the  Holy  Altar."  3  During  the  five  years 
or  more  which  succeeded  his  ordination  he  exer- 
cised, like  many  other  priests  of  that  time,  the 
office  of  notary ;  and  also  acted  as  a  private  tutor.  4 
Up  till  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1545,  no  public 
support,  so  far  as  is  known,  was  given  by  him 
to  the  Reformation  movement. 


1  Beza,  Icones,  Ee.  iii. ;  Spottiswoode,  Hist,  of  Ch.,  ii.,  180; 
D.  Buchanan,  Life  and  Death  of  Knox,  p.  i. 

2  The  requisite  age  was  twenty-five,  so  that  he  might  have 
been  admitted  in  1538;  moreover,  Spottiswoode,  as  we  have 
seen,  declares  {Hist,  of  Ch.,  ii.,  180)  that  "he  was  held  worthy 
to  enter  into  orders  before  the  years  allowed  "  ;  but  the  earliest 
evidence  of  his  priesthood  is  a  legal  document,  dated  Decem- 
ber, 1540,  in  the  burgh  archives  of  Haddington.  In  this 
document  Knox  is  called  Sir  John  Knox,  a  title  given  to 
priests  who  were  not  "Masters."  See  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi., 
p.  xxi. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  xxii.,  and  Facsimile.  Ninian  Winzet  (Certane 
Tractatis,  ii.)  describes  Knox  as  "  esteeming  that  ordina- 
tion null,  by  which  sometime  ye  were  called  Sir  John." 

4  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  p.  xx. ;  Archibald  Hamilton,  De 
Conf.  Cal.  Sect.,  p.  64.  As  Knox  appears  to  have  exercised 
notarial  functions  repeatedly  at  Samuelston,  three  miles 
from  Haddington,  Dr.  Laing  conjectures  that  he  lived 
with  the  Kers  of  Samuelston  (one  of  whom  was  married  to  a 
Sinclair),  and  may  have  acted  as  priest  in  the  little  Chapel 
of  St.  Nicolas  on  the  estate. 


1543]  Early  Years  37 

VII.  This  long  period  of  reserve  and  reticence 
in  a  man  (as  the  issue  proved)  of  strong  convic- 
tions, ardent  temper,  and  openness  of  speech, 
has  been  an  enigma  to  all  students  of  the  Re- 
former's history.  The  difficulty  is  enhanced  if  we 
adhere  to  the  traditional  date  of  Knox's  birth,  and 
thus  postpone  his  avowal  of  Protestant  views 
until  he  was  forty  years  of  age.  Even,  however, 
if  we  accept  1 513-14  as  his  birth-year,  his  inaction 
throughout  early  manhood  and  professional  life  is 
remarkable  and  calls  for  explanation. 

(1)  Some  restraint  may  have  been  exerted  at 
first  over  Knox  by  John  Major,  who,  after  an  ab- 
sence of  six  years,  returned  to  St.  Andrews 
University  in  1531.  His  name  and  fame  as  a  dis- 
tinguished ex-alumnus  of  Haddington  Academy, 
and  as  the  "  Prince  of  Paris  Masters"  x  must  have 
been  previously  familiar  to  Knox,  who  testifies, 
that  Major's  "word  was  then  holden  [i.  e.  at  St. 
Andrews  after  1531]  as  an  oracle  in  matters  of 
religion."2  His  influence  over  the  future  Re- 
former, who  at  some  period  was  his  scholar,  can 
be  traced  in  various  spheres  of  thought.  From 
Major,  who  was  a  Schoolman,  Knox  probably 
learned  that  dialectic  resourcefulness  which 
George  Buchanan — also  a  pupil  of  Major — dis- 
parages somewhat  unfairly  as  "sophistry."  Such 
argumentative     aptitude,     blended    with    moral 


*  So  he  is  called  by  Melanchthon,  Op.  i.,  398. 
3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  L,  37. 


38  John  Knox  [i5i3- 

earnestness,  rendered  Knox  afterwards  a  potent 
controversialist  as  well  as  a  heroic  Reformer. 
From  Major,  also,  Knox  apparently  first  imbibed 
those  advanced  views  of  the  limitations  of  mon- 
archy, which  the  Reformer  afterwards  unfolded 
and  vindicated.  "From  the  people " — so  this 
" Master' '  declared — "kings  have  their  institu- 
tion, and  on  them  [the  people]  royal  power  de- 
pends." "The  nation  is  above  the  king,  who 
exists  for  the  people's  good,  not  they  for  his."  J 
In  the  sphere  of  religion,  Major  had  been  the 
leader  in  France  of  the  ecclesiastical  party  who 
united  loyal  adherence  to  Roman  doctrine  with 
strenuous  opposition  to  papal  despotism  and 
urgent  demand  for  practical  reform.2  While 
Knox,  therefore,  might  hear  from  his  teacher 
a  free  disparagement  of  papal  bans  and  denun- 
ciation of  clerical  abuses,  he  would  also  receive 
from  him  a  scholastic  defence  of  transubstantia- 
tion,  saint-worship,  compulsory  celibacy  for  the 
priesthood,  and  other  Roman  Catholic  tenets; 
without  any  word  of  sympathy  for  that  Reformed 
teaching  which  Hamilton  had  recently  vindicated. 
Major's  prestige  as   an  "oracle,"   along  with  his 

i  Major,  Greater  Britain,  Book  IV.,  17;  Comm.  on  Lomb. 
Sent.,  Book  IV.,  76. 

2  Comment,  on  Matthew,  fol.  18.  In  later  years  Major's 
zeal  against  the  Papacy  cooled,  owing  probably  to  his  alarm 
at  the  Protestant  doctrine  of  the  right  of  private  judgment. 
A  disputation  against  papal  assumption,  contained  in  the 
original  edition  of  the  above-mentioned  commentary,  is 
significantly  omitted  in  the  later  edition  of  1529. 


1 543]  Early  Years  39 

personal  influence  as  a  native  of  East  Lothian, 
may  have  contributed  to  prevent  Knox  from 
publicly  committing  himself,  during  his  academic 
course,  to  the  Reformation  cause. 

(2)  The  burning  of  Hamilton  was  the  inau- 
guration in  Scotland  of  a  stern  policy  of  repression 
and  persecution  such  as  constrained  many  re- 
formers to  conceal  their  convictions.  Beaton  and 
the  hierarchy,  having  crossed  the  Rubicon,  were 
impelled  to  go  forward,  both  by  increasing  symp- 
toms of  revolt  and  by  influential  approval  of  their 
policy.  On  the  one  hand,  even  within  the  archi- 
episcopal  precincts  of  St.  Andrews,  Gavin  Logie 
taught  doctrine  so  suggestive  of  Protestant  truth 
that  suspected  heretics  were  said  to  have  "  drunk 
at  St.  Leonard's  well."1  On  the  other  hand, 
John  Major,  although  fully  alive  to  the  Church's 
abuses,  congratulated  Beaton  on  having  "  man- 
fully removed ' '  Hamilton ;  while  the  University  of 
Lou  vain,  sent  a  warm  letter  of  approbation.2 
The  young  King,  moreover,  James  V.,  endorsed 
the  episcopal  policy,  not  from  any  favour  for 
persecution,  but  from  his  obligation  to  support 
the  hierarchy  as  the  price  of  their  co-operation 
in  resisting  the  encroachments  of  the  nobility. 
During  the  fourteen  years,  accordingly,  which 
intervened  between  the  martyrdom  of  Hamil- 
ton and  the  death  of   James  in   1542,    frequent 

1  Calderwood,  Hist,  of  Kirk,  i.,  104;  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  36. 

2  Calderwood.  i..  80-82. 


4°  John  Knox  [i5i3- 

"  inquisition "  was  made,  under  the  primacy  of 
James  Beaton  and  that  of  his  nephew  David,  for 
those  who  showed  any  leaning  towards  Reformed 
views.1  Various  repressive  enactments  were 
passed  by  Parliament 2 ;  numerous  martyrdoms 
of  priests,  friars,  and  laymen  took  place  3 ;  many 
escaped  death  only  by  flight  and  exile.4  Was 
it  wonderful  that  amid  such  persecution  not 
a  few  remained  reticent  who  sympathised  intel- 
lectually with  the  Reformation  movement,  but 
who  had  not  experienced  those  deep  spiritual  as- 
pirations which  the  evangelical  truth,  proclaimed 
by  the  Reformers,  awakened? 5 

(3)  Neither  of  these  two  influences,  however, 
adequately  accounts  for  a  man  of  Knox's  tem- 
perament refraining  so  long  from  any  act  or  word 
which  would  commit  him  on  the  great  religious 

1  See  Diurnal  of  Occurrents,  p.  15,  which  records  "a  great 
abjuration  of  the  favourers  of  Martin  Luther." 

2  See  Chap.  II.,  p.  52. 

3  Among  notable  martyrs  were  Henry  Forrest,  a  Benedict- 
ine of  Linlithgow;  Thomas  Forret,  Norman  Gourlay,  and 
Duncan  Simpson,  priests;  John  Keillor,  John  Beveridge,  and 
Jerome  Russell,  friars;  D.  Straiton  and  N.  Kennedy,  gentle- 
men of  Kincardine  and  Ayrshire  respectively.  (Knox  i., 
52-62). 

4  Among  distinguished  exiles  were  Gavin  Logie,  James 
Hamilton,  the  brother,  and  Alexander  Alane  (Alesius), 
the  friend,  of  Patrick  Hamilton;  Alexander  Seaton,  the 
King's  confessor,  George  Buchanan,  the  historian,  and  John 
MacAlpine,  a  Dominican,  who  as  Machabaeus  became  Pro- 
fessor of  Theology  at  Copenhagen,  and  one  of  the  translators 
of  the  Bible  into  Danish.      {Ibid.  36,  54-71). 

s  See  Chap.  II.,  pp.  51,  53. 


I543]  Early  Years  41 

question  of  the  time.  His  self-reliant  disposition 
would  prevent  him  from  being  unduly  restrained 
by  Major,  especially  after  his  entrance  into 
the  priesthood.  On  the  other  hand,  any  natural 
"  fearfulness  "  l  would  in  his  case  be  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  that  impatience  of  secrecy  and 
time-serving,  and  that  habit  of  "speaking  his 
mind"  whether  men  approved  or  not,  which 
were  apparently  essential  features  of  his  char- 
acter. In  a  time  of  religious  conflict,  moreover, 
it  is  difficult  for  any  earnest  man,  even  although 
without  the  highest  kind  of  spiritual  experience, 
to  maintain  for  years  a  position  of  neutrality 
regarding  matters  which  intimately  concern  his 
profession.  The  solution  of  the  problem  of  Knox's 
long  reserve  is  to  be  found  mainly,  we  believe,  in  a 
prominent  characteristic  of  the  future  Reformer, 
which  appears  throughout  his  entire  public  career, 
— his  warm  patriotism.  While  other  Protestants  of 
the  period  who  fled  from  Scotland — Alesius, 
Seton,  Logie,  MacAlpine,  William,  and  many 
more — found  permanent  spheres  elsewhere,  and 
"  did  never  after  "  (as  Knox  pathetically  expresses 
it)  "comfort  their  country  with  their  bodily 
presence,"2  he,  on  the  contrary,  as  we  shall 
see,  repeatedly  declined  permanent  promotion  in 

1  Knox  spoke  of  himself  (on  his  death-bed)  as  a  "fearful 
man,"  but  immediately  afterwards  qualified  the  confession 
by  the  statement  that  he  "feared  not  the  faces  of  men" 
(Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  637). 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  56. 


42  John  Knox  [1513- 

England ;  kept  himself  through  correspondence  in 
constant  touch  with  his  countrymen;  and  thrice 
left  his  Genevan  flock  when  Scotland  claimed 
his  service.  There  is  a  suggestive  passage  in  a 
treatise  written  by  Knox  in  1554,  when  religious 
work  in  Scotland  was  impracticable.  "  Sometime 
I  thought  that  it  had  been  .  .  .  impossible 
that  any  realm  or  nation  could  have  been  equal 
dear  unto  me."  1  Throughout  his  correspondence 
anxiety  for  the  welfare  of  his  own  country  is  fre- 
quently revealed ;  and  his  History  of  the  Reforma- 
tion in  Scotland  is  a  continuous  manifestation  of 
a  keenly  patriotic  as  well  as  of  an  earnestly  re- 
ligious character. 

Now,  during  the  period  with  which  we  are  en- 
gaged, there  was  not  a  little  to  cause  a  patriotic 
Scot  to  refrain  from  identifying  himself  with  the 
Protestant  party,  even  although  he  might  be  in 
sympathy  with  the  Protestant  cause.  For  the 
question  of  religious  reformation  was  then  com- 
plicated with  politics,  and  in  particular  with  the 
rival  policies  of  England  and  of  France.  Ever 
since  the  marriage  of  James  IV.  to  Margaret 
Tudor  in  1503,  there  had  been  a  Scottish  party 
favourable  to  friendlier  relations  with  English 
neighbours  than  with  more  distant  French  allies. 
The  endeavour  of  James  V.,  moreover,  to  humble 
a  too  powerful  aristocracy  had  issued  in  a  section 
of  the  nobility  identifying  their  interests  with  the 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  133. 


I543]  Early  Years  43 

policy  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  in  some  cases  even 
transferring  to  him  their  allegiance.1  Through 
the  rupture  between  King  Henry  and  Rome,  in 
1534,  a  fresh  bond  of  connection  was  constituted; 
many  who  favoured  the  Reformation  in  Scotland 
now  looked  to  England  for  sympathy  and  support. 
Henry  VIII.  saw  in  this  altered  attitude  an  op- 
portunity of  reviving  the  old  project  of  Edward 
I.  to  incorporate  the  northern  with  the  southern 
kingdom,  or  at  least  to  establish  over  Scotland 
an  English  suzerainty.  He  proposed  a  marriage 
between  his  daughter  Mary  and  his  nephew,  James 
V.,  just  as  at  a  later  stage,  after  James's  death, 
he  proposed  a  betrothal  between  his  son  Edward 
and  the  infant  Mary  Stuart.  He  attempted  to  wile 
James  V.  into  England  for  conference,  with  the 
object  (as  State  Papers  have  revealed)  of  getting 
the  Scottish  King  into  his  power.  Repeatedly  he 
sent  an  army  across  the  Border,  with  the  design, 
if  not  of  subjugating  Scotland,  at  least  of  forcing 
upon  it  a  civil  and  ecclesiastical  policy. 2 

The  result  of  Scottish  disloyalty,  real  or  ap- 
parent, and  of  English  aggression,  open  or  dis- 
guised, was  a  strong  patriotic  sentiment  among  the 
nation  against  the  English  alliance.     The  Beatons, 

1  Burton,  H.  ofSc,  iii.,  150-152  (edit.  1876);  State  Papers, 
Henry  VIII.,  vol.  iv. 

2  Burton,  iii.,  162,  178,  181-183.  At  a  later  stage,  in  1542, 
Henry  actually  published  a  manifesto,  claiming  the  Scottish 
throne  on  essentially  the  same  grounds  as  those  advanced 
by  Edward  (Ibid.,  iii.,  365.) 


44  John  Knox  [i5i3- 

and  the  Scottish  hierarchy  as  a  whole,  who  pro- 
moted an  alliance  with  France  and  had  rescued  the 
King  from  English  control  and  from  Scottish  allies 
of  England,  were  widely  regarded  as  bulwarks  of 
Scottish  independence.1  The  Reformed  party,  on 
the  other  hand,  being  associated  so  far  with  the 
unpatriotic  English  faction  in  Scotland,  lost  mean- 
while the  support  of  many  who  believed  in  the 
necessity  of  reformation,  .but  were  influenced  for 
a  time  more  by  patriotic  feeling  than  by  Protest- 
ant conviction.  Among  these  we  may  with  con- 
siderable probability  include  John  Knox;  and  he 
would  be  more  likely  to  avoid  identifying  himself 
with  any  movement  which  encouraged,  even  in- 
directly, English  aggression  or  interference,  if  he 
knew  of  a  remarkable  interview  which  took  place 
in  1 531  between  the  Sheriff  of  his  native  county — 
the  Earl  of  Bothwell — and  the  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland, Henry's  trusted  agent  in  regard  to  Scot- 
tish affairs.  At  that  meeting  substantial  aid,  to 
the  extent  of  at  least  seven  thousand  men,  was 
promised  to  the  King  of  England  by  Bothwell, 
on  behalf  of  himself  and  other  noblemen,  in  the 
event  of  an  English  invasion  of  Scotland ;  and  the 
hope  was  held  out  that  ere  long  Henry  would  be 
crowned  in   Edinburgh.2     There  were   many  to 

1  Herkless,  Cardinal  Beaton,  p.  162. 

2  State  Papers,  Henry  VIII.,  iv.,  597,  598;  Burton,  iii.,  151.; 
Herkless,  115.  Even  if  such  promises  were  never  meant  to 
be  fulfilled,  the  rumour  of  their  having  been  made  would 
strengthen  the  Roman  and  anti-English  party. 


1 543]  Early  Years  45 

whom  the  Reformation  was  no  more  than  a  highly 
desirable  event,  for  which  the  country  might 
wait;  whereas  the  virtual,  if  not  actual,  annexa- 
tion of  Scotland  by  England  was  a  near  and 
imminent  peril.  For  all  such  Scotsmen,  Cardinal 
Beaton,  notwithstanding  his  heinous  faults,  could 
not  but  appear  a  more  trustworthy  political 
leader,  on  the  whole,  meanwhile,  than  nobles 
whose  reforming  sympathies  were  associated  with 
unpatriotic  self-seeking,  if  not  with  the  yet  graver 
delinquency  of  treason. 

ADDITIONAL    NOTE    ON   THE    DATE    OF    KNOX'S    BIRTH 

The  contempory  and  local  testimony  of  Sir  Peter 
Young,  in  itself  stronger  than  that  of  Spottiswoode, 
is  fortified  by  the  following  considerations : 

i.  When  Young  sent  his  letter  to  Beza  in  1579, 
George  Buchanan,  his  senior  colleague  in  the  royal 
household,  with  whom  he  must  have  been  in  con- 
stant communication,  was  still  alive.  Can  we  sup- 
pose that  Young  wrote  about  Knox's  age  (especially 
if  any  doubt  existed) ,  without  consulting  Buchanan, 
who  was  Knox's  friend,1  and  born  in  1506  ?  and  is  it 
likely  that  the  historian  would  misstate  the  age  of  a 
friend  and  contemporary  by  eight  years? 

1  Knox  submitted  part  of  his  History  to  Buchanan's  re- 
visal  {H.  of  R.,  ii.,  134),  and  bears  witness  to  "the  rare  graces 
of  God  given  to  that  man,  His  servant"  {ibid.,  i.,  71).  Bu- 
chanan, on  the  other  hand,  refers  repeatedly  to  Knox  in 
favourable  terms,  particularly  testifying  to  his  excellence  as 
a  preacher  {Hist,  of  Sc,  Book  xvi.).  It  was  with  Knox's 
good- will,  doubtless,  that  Buchanan  was  chosen  Moderator 
of  Assembly  in  1567. 


46  John  Knox  [1513- 

2.  Beza  was  on  terms  of  friendship  with  Knox, 
whom  he  must  have  known  in  Switzerland;  and 
the  friendship  was  kept  up  by  correspondence  (Laing, 
W.  of  K.,  vi.,  565,  613).  We  can  readily  believe 
that  from  imperfect  memory,  or  through  inadvert- 
ence (notwithstanding  Young's  letter),  he  represented 
Knox  as  dying  in  his  fifty-eighth  instead  of  in  his 
fifty-ninth  year.  But  that  an  intimate  friend  should 
have  deliberately  declared  Knox  to  be  nine  years 
younger  than  he  really  was,  is  not  very  credible. 

3.  Young's  testimony  as  to  the  date  of  Knox's 
birth,  and  Beza's  statement  that  the  Reformer  studied 
in  St.  Andrews  under  Major,  who  returned  to  the 
university  of  that  city  in  1 53 1 ,  harmonise  suggestively 
with  certain  records  in  the  Reformer's  History  re- 
lating to  the  time  during  which  he  would  most  probably 
have  resided  there  as  a  student.  Knox's  account  of 
proceedings  at  St.  Andrews  between  1529  and  1535  is 
particularly  detailed  and  graphic.  He  knows  what 
was  said  then  and  there  about  the  recent  burning  of 
Patrick  Hamilton  in  1528.  He  refers  to  the  teach- 
ing of  Gavin  Logie,  who  left  Scotland  about  1535 
and  to  the  "novices  of  the  Abbey,"  who  under  the 
influence  of  the  sub-prior  (probably  Wynram,  the 
future  Reforming  leader)  "  began  to  smell  somewhat 
of  the  verity."  He  recalls  a  private  interview  in  St. 
Andrews  at  that  time  between  John  Major  and  a 
friar,  William  Airth,  who  shared  Major's  views  about 
clerical  abuses;  he  mentions  the  names  of  the  chief 
auditors  on  a  particular  occasion  in  the  parish  church ; 
and  he  gives  details  of  discourses  preached  in  St. 
Andrews  at  this  period  by  friars  Airth  and  Seaton, 
who  both  fled  soon  afterwards  to  England,  and  ceased 


i543]  Early  Years  47 

to  have  further  connection  with  the  Scottish  Reforma- 
tion (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  36-47).  In  reading  this 
portion  of  Knox's  History,  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  the 
impression  that  he  is  drawing  material  from  the 
storehouse  of  personal  reminiscences  at  St.  Andrews. 

4.  If  Knox  was  born  in  15 13,  instead  of  1505,  and 
if  his  connection  with  Glasgow  University  be  surren- 
dered, several  circumstances  in  his  life  become  more 
easy  of  explanation,  (a)  His  apparent  lack  of  in- 
terest in  Glasgow,  whose  university  was  supposed  to 
be  his  Alma  Mater.  He  was  very  seldom  there  in  after 
life;  whereas  St.  Andrews,  next  to  Edinburgh,  was 
his  favourite  abode  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  i.,  185,  228,  347; 
vi.,  70,  79-85,  602-606,  615-620).  (b)  If  he  was  not 
born  until  1 5 1 3 ,  the  statement  of  Spottiswoode  and  of 
David  Buchanan  (see  p.  23)  that  he  received  orders 
before  the  usual  age  (i.  e.,  twenty-five)  becomes  more 
credible;  for  the  earliest  reference  to  his  priesthood 
relates  to  1540,  when,  according  to  the  traditional 
date  of  his  birth,  he  would  have  been  already  a  priest 
for  over  ten  years,  (c)  The  very  long  period  during 
which,  if  the  date  1505  be  correct,  there  is  absolutely 
nothing  known  about  the  future  Reformer  is  sub- 
stantially shortened,  (d)  The  difficulty  involved  in  a 
man  of  Knox's  ardent  nature  not  committing  himself 
to  the  Reformation  cause  until  1545,  is  lessened  by 
the  acceptance  of  Young's  date,  (e)  Knox's  attitude 
of  discipleship  towards  Wishart,  and  his  practice  of 
attending  that  Reformer  with  a  "two-handed  sword" 
(see  p.  60)  are  more  natural  if  Wishart,  whose  birth 
is  usually  assigned  to  the  year  1 5 1 3 ,  was  Knox's  sen- 
ior, or  at  least  his  equal  as  to  age,  and  not  his  junior, 
as  would  be  the  case  if  the  traditional  date  of  1505  be 


48  John  Knox  [1513-1543] 

maintained  as  the  year  of  Knox's  nativity.  The  Re- 
former's attitude  of  docile  reverence  towards  Calvin 
(see  Chap.  V.),  who  was  born  in  1509,  is  also  more  in 
keeping  with  the  supposition  that  he  was  junior  and 
not  senior  to  the  great  Swiss  divine.  (See  articles  by 
Andrew  Lang  and  the  present  writer  in  the  Athen&um 
of  5th  Nov.  and  3rd  Dec,  1904).  * 


1  Since  the  above  was  printed,  Mr.  D.  Macmillan,  in  his 
John  Knox  (p.  311),  has  argued  that  Beza,  although  living  at 
Lausanne,  near  Geneva,  could  not  have  known  Knox  person- 
ally. Otherwise  Young  would  not  have  thought  it  necessary 
to  send  Beza  a  "pen-portrait  of  the  Reformer"  in  1579. 
But  Knox  had  left  Geneva  twenty  years  before;  and  Young, 
doubtless,  considered  it  desirable,  in  view  of  Beza's  forth- 
coming memoir  of  Knox,  to  recall  the  details  of  the  latter 's 
appearance. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    REFORMATION    IN    SCOTLAND    BETWEEN    1 543 

AND    1546:    PARTICIPATION    OF    KNOX    IN 

THE  MOVEMENT 

i543~I546 

THE  death  of  King  James  V.  in  December, 
1542,  issued  in  a  political  crisis.  Cardinal 
Beaton,  the  leading  counsellor  of  James,  in 
his  anxiety  not  only  to  frustrate  Henry  VIII. 's 
designs  against  Scottish  independence,  but  to  keep 
in  his  own  hands  the  government  of  the  country, 
aroused  against  himself  a  jealousy  and  hostility 
which  imperilled  at  once  his  person  and  his  policy. 
It  was  asserted  at  the  time,  and  widely  believed, 
that  the  royal  testament,  which  appointed  Beaton 
as  Regent  during  the  minority  of  Mary  Stuart,  had 
been  drawn  up  by  the  Cardinal  after  the  King's 
death;  and  that  the  parchment,  while  still  blank, 
had  been  signed  by  the  dying  or  dead  sovereign's 
hand,  guided  by  Beaton  himself.1     According  to 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  91-93;  Spottisw.,  H.  of  Ch.  of  Sc,  i., 
141.  Bishop  Lesley  admits  that  the  Cardinal's  appointment 
by  the  King  could  not  be  proved  (H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  264,  Sc.  T. 
Soc).     Hay  Fleming  (Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  pp.  3,  180,  and 

49 


5°  John  Knox  [i543- 

another  contemporary  report,  endorsed  by  Knox, 
there  was  found  on  the  King's  person  after  his 
death  a  long  list  of  nobility  and  gentry,  prepared 
by  the  Cardinal  with  a  view  to  their  prosecution 
and  the  confiscation  of  their  property.1  Even  if 
these  charges  were  calumnious,  there  was  a  gen- 
eral and  well-founded  belief  at  the  time  that  Bea- 
ton was  determined  to  rid  the  Court  of  every  man 
of  position  who  could  not  be  won  over  to  his 
party.  A  temporary  reaction,  accordingly,  against 
both  the  hierarchy  and  the  French  alliance 
ensued.  In  January,  1543,  the  nobility,  forgetful 
for  the  time  of  private  jealousies,  nominated  to 
Parliament  as  Regent  the  Earl  of  Arran,  whose 
sentiments  were  believed  to  be  strongly  against 
both  Rome  and  France.  Three  weeks  later,  the 
Cardinal  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  as  a  con- 
spirator against  the  welfare  of  the  realm.2 

I.  The  new  Government  proceeded  without  de- 
lay to  manifest  its  willingness  to  enter  into  an  Eng- 
lish alliance,  as  well  as  to  favour  the  Reform  cause. 
When  the  Estates  met  in  March,  1543,  and 
confirmed  Arran's  regency,  they  declared,  at  his 
instigation,  their  readiness  to  inaugurate  negotia- 
tions, as  King  Henry  proposed,  for  the  betrothal 
of  the  infant  Mary  Stuart  to  the  boy  who  became 

"Cont.  Rev.,"  Sept.,  1898)  and  Hume  Brown  (H.  of  Sc,  ii., 
4)  favour  the  charge  of  forgery  against  Beaton;  Andrew 
Lang  takes  the  other  side  {H.  of  Sc,  i.,  459-461). 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,i.,  82. 

2  Lesley,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  265 ;  Hume  Brown,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  4,  5. 


1546]         Early  Reformation  Days  51 

Edward  VI. T  Certain  important  stipulations, 
however,  were  laid  down  as  essential.  The  young 
Queen  of  Scots  was  not  to  be  removed  to  England, 
as  Henry  had  demanded,  until  she  had  completed 
her  tenth  year ;  the  English  proposal  that  certain 
Scottish  fortresses  should  be  surrendered  mean- 
while, as  guarantees,  was  rejected;  Scotland  was 
to  remain  an  independent  kingdom  always  under 
the  government  of  a  native  ruler:  and  if  issue 
from  the  marriage  failed,  the  next  Scottish  heir 
was  to  succeed  to  the  throne.2  Henry  was  ir- 
ritated at  conditions  which  prevented  him  from 
recognising  the  betrothal  as  a  virtual  acknowledg- 
ment by  Scotland  of  English  suzerainty;  and  he 
accepted  the  stipulations  only  because  he  hoped 
to  secure  their  eventual  withdrawal. 

What  caused  dissatisfaction  to  the  King  of 
England,  however,  removed  a  ground  of  suspicion 
from  many  in  Scotland  who  favoured  the  Reform- 
ation movement,  but  had  disliked  its  apparent 
association  with  subservience  to  a  rival  people. 
This  change  of  sentiment  manifested  itself  in  a 
remarkable  alteration  of  attitude.  Not  a  few  who 
from  patriotic  reasons  had  hitherto  supported, 
or  at  least  refrained  from  opposing,  the  hierarchy 
were  now  ready  to  promote  legislation  in  favour 
of  the  Protestant  cause.  In  1535  Parliament  had 
passed  a  stringent  law  against  the  introduction, 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  102;   Lesley,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  266. 

2  Acts  of  Pari,  of  Sc,  ii.,  411-413;  Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  v.,  325. 


52  John  Knox  [i543- 

possession,  or  use  of  any  heretical  books,  among 
which  Tyndale's  New  Testament  was  known  to  be 
included.1  So  recently  as  1541,  in  James  V.'s  last 
Parliament,  repressive  statutes  had  been  enacted 
prohibiting  even  private  conventions  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  Holy  Scripture;  declaring  it  criminal 
to  help  or  harbour  persons  cited  to  answer  a 
charge  of  heresy;  and  imposing  the  penalty  of 
death  on  all  who  questioned  the  Pope's  supreme 
authority  or  spiritual  infallibility.2  Now,  in  1543, 
the  Estates  ordained  the  lawfulness  of  possessing 
and  of  reading  Holy  Scripture  in  the  vernacular; 
an  enactment  which  Knox  describes  as  "no  small 
victory  of  Christ  Jesus,  nor  small  comfort  to  such 
as  before  were  holden  in  bondage . "  "  The  Bible , ' ' 
he  continues,  "  might  now  be  seen  on  almost  every 
gentleman's  table,  instead  of  being  hid  away  in 
some  out-of-the-way  corner."  The  Regent  Arran 
was  esteemed  to  be  "the  most  fervent  Protestant 
in  Europe."  3 

1  Acts  of  Pari,  of  Sc,  ii.,  342. 

2  Ibid.,  ii.,  370;   Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  v.,  285. 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  100,  101.  The  version  circulated  was 
that  of  Tyndale.  According  to  Knox,  the  Spiritual  Estate 
made  a  very  ineffective  resistance  to  the  enactment  regarding 
vernacular  Scripture.  The  prelates  first  contended  that  the 
Church  had  forbidden  the  Bible  to  be  read  except  in  Hebrew, 
Greek,  or  Latin.  When  confronted  with  Christ's  command 
that  His  Word  be  "preached  to  all  nations,"  they  pleaded 
that  vernacular  versions  must  be  certified  as  "true."  When 
it  was  demanded  "what  could  be  reprehended"  in  Tyndale's 
translation,  "nothing  could  be  found  but  that  Love  was  put 
in  the  place  of  Charity"  (in  1  Cor.  xiii.). 


1 546]         Early  Reformation  Days  53 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  we  find  the  earliest 
trace  of  John  Knox's  sympathy  with  Protestant 
truth;  and  it  is  not  unlikely,  as  already  sug- 
gested, that  the  emphatic  dissociation,  under 
Regent  Arran,  of  the  Scottish  Reform  movement 
from  an  unpatriotic  policy,  was  in  his  case,  as  in 
that  of  others,  one  cause  of  an  altered  ecclesiasti- 
cal attitude.  A  more  personal  and  spiritual  mo- 
tive contributed  to  Knox's  new  departure.  The 
Regent  had  appointed  as  his  chaplains  two  evan- 
gelical friars,  Thomas  William  of  Athelstaneford, 
in  East  Lothian,  whom  Knox  describes  as  a  man 
"of  wholesome  doctrine"  and  "prompt  utter- 
ance"; and  John  Rough,  "not  so  learned,"  but 
"more  vehement  against  all  impiety."  These 
chaplains  were  not  mere  Court  officials:  they 
preached  frequently  in  Edinburgh,  and  sometimes 
apparently  elsewhere.1  William  probably  included 
Haddington,  four  miles  from  his  home,  within 
the  sphere  of  his  evangelistic  activity.  At  all 
events,  the  Haddington  notary-priest  (possibly  a 
former  school-fellow)  was  somewhere  among  the 
hearers  of  this  Dominican  friar;  and  we  have  it 
on  testimony  which,  although  not  contemporary, 
is  sufficiently  ancient  to  command  acceptance,  in 
the  absence  of  any  evidence  to  the  contrary,  that 
while  listening  to  William,  Knox  first  received  a 
"taste"  and  a  "lively  impression  of  the  truth," 

i  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  95-96  (with  Laing's  Note);  Spottisw., 
i.,  143-144;    Foxe,  Acts,  etc.,  viii.,  433- 


54  John  Knox  [i543- 

and  was  much  moved  thenceforth  to  the  "  earnest 
study  of  the  Holy  Scripture."  *  The  passage  of 
the  Word  of  God  on  which  he  "cast  "  his  "first 
anchor"  (according  to  his  own  testimony)  was 
the  seventeenth  chapter  of  St.  John.2 

II.  The  Reforming  policy  inaugurated  by 
Arran  in  the  Parliament  of  1543  was  short-lived. 
The  Regent  was  a  man  of  no  stability  of  character. 
He  was  unable  to  withstand  the  combined  in- 
fluence of  the  Queen  Dowager,  Mary  of  Guise,  to 
whom  the  Reformation  and  the  proposed  English 
marriage  were  alike  distasteful ;  of  the  hierarchy, 
who  interdicted  the  mass  during  the  Cardinal's 
imprisonment  ; 3  of  all  thorough  Romanists,  in 
whose  eyes  the  treatment  of  the  Primate  was 
sacrilege;  and  of  the  party  who,  without  any 
strong  ecclesiastical  convictions,  preferred  the 
time-honoured  alliance  with  France  to  the  new- 
born alliance  with  England.  The  Regent's  ille- 
gitimate brother,  John  Hamilton,  Abbot  of 
Paisley,  who  arrived  in  Scotland  from  France 
soon  after  the  meeting  of  Parliament,  added  his 
personal  influence  on  the  side  of  Romanism.  He 
alarmed  Arran  by  reminding  him  that  the  legality 
of  his  mother's  marriage,  and  therefore  his  own 
legitimacy,  depended  on  the  validity  of  the  divorce 
granted  by  the  Pope  to  his  father  from  a  former 

1  Calderw.,  H.  of  the  Kirk.,  i.,  156;   Dav.  Buch.,  in  Life  and 
Death  of  Knox,  p.  18. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  643. 

3  Hamilton  Papers,  i.,  426. 


i546]         Early  Reformation  Days  55 

wife.  If  the  papal  authority — so  the  Abbot 
argued — were  repudiated  by  Scotland,  then  the 
Regent  was  a  bastard  with  no  legal  claim  either 
to  the  earldom,  to  the  regency,  or  (in  the  event 
of  Mary  Stuart's  death  without  issue)  to  the 
throne.1*  Before  the  end  of  April,  the  English 
ambassador,  Sadler,  observed  tokens  of  Arran's 
tergiversation.  The  Cardinal  had  been  virtually 
released,  and  was  conspiring  against  the  English 
party  2 ;  the  Protestant  chaplains  had  been  dis- 
missed from  the  Court  3 ;  men  with  reforming 
aspirations,  like  Sir  David  Lyndsay  and  Henry 
Balnaves,  who  had  been  admitted  to  the  Regent's 
confidence,  were  now  replaced  by  Romanist 
counsellors4;  ten  thousand  adherents  of  the 
French  faction  assembled  in  Leith  to  intimidate 
the  vacillating  Earl.5  Up  to  the  25th  of  August, 
however,  when  the  terms  of  the  betrothal  were 
approved  by  the  Regent,  the  semblance  of  a 
policy  favourable  to  the  Reformation  and  to 
England  was  retained:  but  eight  days  later, 
in  the  Franciscan  Church  of  Stirling,  Arran 
recanted  his  Protestantism,  renounced  his  policy 
of  alliance  with  England,  and  received  absolution 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,i.,  105;  Spottisw.,  i.,  146;  Ham.  P.,  i.,  49. 

2  Ham.  Papers,  i.,  483;   Sadler  Papers,  i.,  83-90. 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  105;  Spottisw.,  i.,  44.  According  to 
the  latter,  Rough  was  not  dismissed  from  the  Regent's 
service,  but  "  on  some  colour  dimitted  to  preach  "  in 
Ayrshire. 

4  Knox,  H.  of  R.,i.,  106. 

5  Diurnal  of  Occur.,  p.  28. 


56  John  Knox  [i543- 

fromthe  Primate  himself.1  The  political  outcome 
of  the  Regent's  apostasy  was  the  repudiation  of 
the  matrimonial  proposal  by  the  Scottish  Parlia- 
ment in  December,  1543  (nominally  on  account  of 
the  seizure  of  certain  Scottish  ships  by  the  Eng- 
lish), and  the  devastation  in  the  following  May 
of  part  of  Scotland  by  an  English  army,  as 
a  chastisement  for  alleged  broken  faith.2  The 
ecclesiastical  issue  was  the  renewal  of  persecu- 
tion, particularly  in  Perth  and  Dundee,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  triumphant  Cardinal,  and  with  the 
reluctant  acquiescence  of  the  humiliated  Regent.3 
III.  The  seed  of  evangelical  truth,  which  had 
been  sown  in  Knox's  heart  by  Chaplain  William, 
fructified  under  other  husbandry.  In  May,  1544* 
or  possibly  in  July,  1543,  George  Wishart,  the 
son  or  nephew  of  a  laird  of  Pitarrow,  in  Kin- 
cardineshire,4 returned,  after  long  absence,  to  his 


1  Knox,  H,  of  R.,i.,  109;  Sadler  Papers,  i.,  277-278;  Ham. 
Papers,  i.,  522. 

2  Diurn.  of  Occur.,  30;  Tytler,  v.,  353.  It  was  on  this 
occasion  that  Melrose,  Dryburgh,  Kelso,  and  Coldingham 
Abbeys  were  destroyed  by  English  soldiers,  and  not,  as  is 
often  supposed,  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  by  fanatical 
Scottish  Protestants  (Burton,  H.  of  Sc,  chap.  xxxv.). 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  117;  Foxe,  Acts,  v.,  623;  Spottisw., 
i.,  147;  Herkless,  Cardinal  Beaton,  283-285.  Four  men 
were  hanged  and  one  woman  drowned  at  Perth,  early  in 
1544,  for  alleged  heresy. 

4  The  date  of  Wishart's  return  is  disputed,  and  the  ques- 
tion has  some  bearing  on  the  controversy  (see  pp.  64sqq.)  as 
to  his  alleged  complicity  in  the  assassination  of  Cardinal 
Beaton.    See  Laing's  W.  of  K.,l,  125  and  App.  ix. ;  A.  Petrie, 


1 546]         Early  Reformation  Days  57 

native  land.  Six  years  before,  while  a  teacher 
of  Greek  in  Montrose,  Wishart  had  come  under  the 
suspicion  of  heresy,  through  his  practice  of  reading 
the  Greek  New  Testament  with  his  pupils .  He  was 
cited  to  appear  before  the  Bishop  of  Brechin ;  fled 
to  England;  visited  subsequently  Germany  and 
Switzerland;  and  eventually  became  a  tutor  in 
the  University  of  Cambridge.  An  admiring  pupil 
there,  Emery  Tylney,  describes  him  in  1543  as  a 
man  of  tall  stature,  comely  in  person,  courteous, 
lovely,  glad  to  teach,  desirous  to  learn,  fearing 
God,  hating  covetousness.  "  If  I  should  declare 
his  love  to  me,  and  all  men,  his  charity  to  the  poor 
in  giving,  relieving,  caring,  helping,  providing,  yea 
infinitely  studying  how  to  do  good  to  all  and 
hurt  to  none,  I  should  sooner  want  words  than 
just  cause  to  commend  him."  x 

The  immediate  occasion,  probably,  of  Wishart 's 
resolve  to  return  to  Scotland  was  the  Regent's 
original  Protestant  policy,  which  appeared  to 
promise  opportunities  of  freely  propagating  Re- 
formed doctrine.  Prior  to  his  actual  return,  Arran's 
apostasy  and  the  Cardinal's  restoration  to  power 
had  completely  changed  the  situation.  Wishart, 
however,  was  not  deterred  from  delivering  his 
testimony,  first  at  Montrose  in  a  private  house; 
afterwards  more  publicly  at  Dundee,  in  spite  of 

Compendious  History,  ii.,  182;  N.B.  Rev.,  xlix.;  Rogers,  Life 
of  Wishart,  p.  19;  Hay  Fleming,  in  Contemp.  Rev.,lx.xW.,  380; 
Andrew  Lang,  H.  of  Sc.,  i.,  469. 

1  Foxe,  Acts,  v.,  625-626  ;  Rogers,  Life  of  Wishart,  6,  7,  17. 


58  John  Knox  [1543- 

pestilence  and  attempted  assassination,  of  ecclesi- 
astical malice  and  magisterial  opposition;  in 
numerous  parishes,  also,  of  Ayrshire,  under  the 
protection  of  the  Earl  of  Glencairn,  Hugh  Camp- 
bell of  Kinyeancleuch,  and  other  influential  friends 
of  the  Reform  movement.  Sometimes  he 
preached  in  churches,  occasionally  in  the  fields, 
and  once,  at  least,  in  the  street  at  the  East  Port 
of  Dundee,  so  that  he  might  be  heard  both  by 
the  plague-stricken  crowd  outside  the  gate,  and 
by  the  healthy  multitude  inside.1  Early  in  De- 
cember, 1545,  he  ventured,  against  the  remon- 
strance of  friends,  to  preach  in  Leith,  under  the 
shadow,  as  it  were,  of  the  Regent's  palace;  and 
afterwards  at  Inveresk,  a  few  miles  from  Edin- 
burgh.2 

It  was  at  this  stage  that  Knox  came  under 
Wishart's  potent  influence.  The  former  had  be- 
come tutor  some  time  before  in  the  family  of 
Hugh  Douglas  of  Longniddry  in  Haddington- 
shire, an  ardent  adherent  of  the  Reform  cause; 
and  he  had  "  waited  upon  Wishart  from  the  time 
he  came  to  Lothian."  3  The  house  of  Douglas 
was  Wishart's  abode  during  a  portion  of  his  five- 
weeks'  stay  in  the  district.4  Knox  was  probably 
present  at  the  service  in    Inveresk,  about  eight 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  125-133;  Cook,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  272-278. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  134,  135. 

3  Ibid.,  i.,  137,  139^ 

4  Ibid.,  p.  134. 


rl  St 


<D     o 

5". 


J    o 


O  *H 


I546]         Early  Reformation  Days  59 

miles  off;  and  he  could  hardly  fail  to  be  one  of 
the  congregation  in  the  neighbouring  church  of 
Tranent  on  the  two  succeeding  Sundays,  when,  as 
he    testifies,    Wishart    "preached   with   the   like 
grace,  and  like  confluence  of   people."     We  are 
expressly  told  that  he  was  with  the  Reformer 
on  the  occasion  of  the  latter's  evangelistic  visit  to 
Haddington  in  January,    1546.1     The   acquaint- 
ance   between    the    two    men    speedily    ripened; 
on   Wishart's    side    into   a   fulness    of   brotherly 
confidence  which  throws  significant  light  on  the 
sympathetic     phase     of     Knox's    character;    on 
Knox's  part  into  a  warmth  and  chivalry  of  per- 
sonal    devotion,    which     prove     that    Tylney's 
eulogy   of    Wishart    rested    on  a   solid    founda- 
tion.    He  was  "a  man"  according  to  Knox,  "of 
such    graces    as    before    were    never    heard    [of] 
within  this  realm,  yea,  and  are  rare  to  be  found 
yet  in   any  man."     On   the   Sunday  before  his 
arrest,    while    he   was    preparing    his    thoughts 
for    his    last    service    in     Haddington    church, 
Wishart    was    in    a    state    of    deep    depression, 
caused  partly  by  the  apparent  lukewarmness  of 
the  people  of  the  town  as  compared  with  those  of 
other  places,  and  partly  by  a  letter  which  he  had 
just  received,  and  which  he  interpreted  as  a  sign 
that  "men  began  to  weary  of  God."     Knox  was 
the  friend  whom  Wishart  summoned  to  his  pres- 
ence, to  whom  he  imparted  his  disappointment, 


Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  136,  137. 


6o  John  Knox 


[1543- 


and  from  whom  he  sought  strengthening  sym- 
pathy. When  "  the  time  of  sermon  approached," 
Knox  "left  the  preacher  for  the  present  to  his 
meditation";  but  he  remained  near  enough  to 
know  that  "Master  George  spaced  up  and  down 
before  the  high  altar  more  than  half  an  hour, 
and  that  his  very  visage  declared  the  grief  of  his 
mind."  Many  years  afterwards  Knox  recalled 
vividly  Wishart's  solemn  judgments  on  the  town 
which  would  not  "  know  the  time  of  God's  merci- 
ful visitation,"  along  with  his  "exhortation  to 
patience,  to  the  fear  of  God,  and  to  works  of 
mercy"  on  the  part  of  God's  people.1 

It  had  been  arranged  that  the  preacher  should 
pass  the  night  at  the  house  of  Cockburn  of  Ormis- 
ton  (about  six  miles  off),  and  Knox  relates  his 
departure  on  foot  with  that  laird  on  a  night  "of 
vehement  frost,"  when  riding  was  impracticable. 
Knowing  Wishart's  depression  and  foreseeing  dan- 
ger (for  Cardinal  Beaton  was  then  in  the  vicinity, 
with  five  hundred  armed  men),  Knox  "  pressed  to 
have  gone  with  Master  George  "  and  appeared  with 
a  "two-handed  sword,"  which  he  or  others  carried 
about  for  the  Reformer's  defence.      But  Wish- 


1  H.  of  R.y  i.,  137-138.  The  letter  which  had  depressed 
Wishart  was  from  certain  "gentlemen  of  the  West,"  in- 
cluding the  Earl  of  Cassilis,  who  had  undertaken  to  meet 
the  Reformer  in  January  at  Edinburgh,  and  to  procure  for 
him  the  opportunity  of  "disputation"  with  the  bishops  at 
the  Provincial  Synod  (Knox,  i.,  131).  The  letter  informed 
Wishart  of  the  inability  of  these  friends  to  keep  the 
engagement. 


IS46]         Early  Reformation  Days  61 

art,  also  foreboding  trouble,  unselfishly  declined 
the  valued  company  of  his  chivalrous  friend. 
"Nay,  return  to  your  bairns  [i.  e.,  his  pupils  at 
Longniddry];  one  is  sufficient  for  one  sacrifice."  r 
There  is  no  evidence  that  the  two  friends  ever 
met  again ;  but  the  disciple  heard  of  the  midnight 
arrest  of  his  master  by  Lord  Bothwell  in  the  Cardi- 
nal's name;  of  the  prisoner's  transference  from 
Bothwell's  castle,  Elphinstone  Tower,  first  to 
Edinburgh,  and  eventually,  with  the  Regent's 
sanction,  to  St.  Andrews;  of  Wishart's  trial  on  the 
last  day  of  February  (the  anniversary  of  Patrick 
Hamilton's  condemnation  and  martyrdom)  in  the 
cathedral  of  that  city,  before  the  two  archbishops 
and  other  dignitaries  of  the  Church.2  Wishart's 
condemnation  was  a  foregone  conclusion ;  and  the 
execution,  illegally  carried  out  without  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  Regent,3  took  place  on  the  day  after 
the  trial.  If  Knox  was  not  present  on  the  occa- 
sion, eye-witnesses  doubtless  reported  to  him  the 
particulars  recorded  in  his  History,  including  the 
martyr's  Christ-like  declaration  at  the  stake,  "  I 
forgive  them  [his  accusers]  with  all  my  heart"; 


i  Knox,  i.,  137-139. 

2  Ibid.,  i.,  139-167.  The  reconciliation  of  the  Primate  and 
the  Archbishop  of  Glasgow  (Dunbar)  at  this  time,  after 
a  recent  quarrel,  is  compared  by  Knox  to  the  restoration  of 
friendship  between  Pilate  and  Herod  over  the  trial  of  Christ. 

3  See  Pitscottie,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  56  (Sc.  Text  Soc.  ed.),  where 
it  is  stated  that  the  Regent  "would  not  consent  that  any 
'skaith'  shall  be  done  to  that  man  at  that  time." 


62  John  Knox  [1543- 

his  prayer  to  Christ  to  ''forgive  them  that  have 
condemned  me  to  death  this  day  ignorantly ' ' ;  and 
his  solemn  warning  to  the  prelates  and  those  asso- 
ciated with  them,  that  "if  they  will  not  convert 
themselves  from  their  wicked  error,  there  shall 
hastily  come  upon  them  the  wrath  of  God."  l 

If  Wis  hart's  teaching  corresponded  with  the 
testimony  which  he  gave  at  his  trial,  we  know 
what  doctrines  Knox  would  specially  receive  from 
him.  He  would  learn  the  supremacy  of  Holy 
Scripture  above  all  fallible  ecclesiastical  councils ; 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  169,  170.  The  words  last  quoted 
contain,  probably,  the  germ  out  of  which  the  myth  of  Wish- 
art's  alleged  prophecy  of  the  death  of  the  Cardinal  was  after- 
wards developed:  "He  who  from  that  high  place  feedeth 
his  eyes  with  my  torments,  within  few  days  shall  be  hanged 
out  at  the  same  window,  to  be  seen  with  as  much  ignominy 
as  he  now  leaneth  there  in  pride."  This  "prediction "  is  not 
contained  in  the  original  and  anonymous  account  of  the 
martyrdom  published  in  London  in  the  following  year,  and 
attributed  by  Rogers  (Life  of  Wishart,  p.  49)  and  by  Andrew 
Lang  (H.  of  Sc,  i.,  488)  to  Knox  himself.  It  is  not  referred 
to  in  Knox's  narrative  of  the  proceedings — an  omission  the 
more  significant  because  Knox  elsewhere  credits  Wishart 
with  foreknowledge.  It  is  also  not  found  in  the  first  edition 
of  Foxe's  Acts,  (1563).  The  earliest  reference  to  the  al- 
leged prophecy  occurs  in  a  reprint  of  Foxe's  work  (1570), 
where  the  words  occur  in  the  margin :  ' '  Mr  George  Wishart 
prophesieth  of  the  death  of  the  Cardinal. ' '  George  Buchanan, 
in  his  History  of  Scotland  (Book  xv.,  fol.  178),  expands  this 
into  the  sentence:  "He  who  looks  down  upon  us  so  proudly, 
will  within  a  few  days  lie  no  less  ignominiously  than  he  now 
arrogantly  reclines."  Not  till  1644,  in  the  edition  of  Knox's 
History  by  David  Buchanan  (who  takes  many  liberties  with 
the  text),  does  the  saying  appear  in  full  form  (p.  171). 


i546]         Early  Reformation  Days  63 

the  universal  priesthood  of  believers,  as  distin- 
guished from  any  exclusive  sacerdotalism ;  the  doc- 
trine of  justification  by  faith,  as  unfolded  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans ;  the  recognition  of  "  those 
Sacraments  only  which  were  instituted  by  Christ "  ; 
the  rejection  of  transubstantiation,  purgatory, 
"saint-worship,"  compulsory  celibacy,  enforced 
auricular  confession  to  a  priest;  and  the  disa- 
vowal of  superstitious  belief  in  exorcism,  holy 
water,  the  duty  of  abstaining  from  flesh  on  Friday, 
and  other  mere  ecclesiastical  observances.1 

Through  Wishart,  moreover,  Knox  would  be- 
come acquainted  with  an  important  doctrinal 
manifesto  of  Swiss  Protestantism — the  earliest 
Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Helvetian  churches, 
prepared  by  Bullinger  and  other  Reformers  for  the 
Congress  of  Basel  in  1536.  Wishart  had  translated 
this  Confession  into  English,2  and  he  could  hardly 
have  failed  to  show  it  to  his  loyal  follower.  To 
this  early  embodiment  of  Protestant  doctrine, 
with  its  emphatic  testimony  against  images,  al- 
tars, elaborate  vestments,  and  "unprofitable  cer- 
emonies," as  well  as  to  Wishart  himself,  who  was 
doubtless  in  substantial  accord  with  what  he  had 
been  at  pains  to  translate,  may  be  traced  prima- 
rily the  radical  and  Puritanic  character  of  Knox's 
Reformation,    as    distinguished    from    the    more 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  153-167. 

2  See  Wodrow  Miscellany,  pp.  7-23.     The  MS.  was  printed 
after  Wishart's  death. 


64  John  Knox  [i543- 

conservative  and  moderate  policy  which  guided 
the  founders  of  the  Lutheran  and  Anglican 
churches. 

ADDITIONAL    NOTE    TO    CHAPTER    II 

Alleged  complicity  of  George  Wishart  in  the  con- 
spiracy against  Cardinal  Beaton. 

The  charge  of  complicity  beforehand  was  made  by 
the  Roman  Catholic  Dempster  (Hist.  Eccl.  Gentis 
Scot.,  ii.,  599),  in  the  seventeenth  century;  and  it  has 
been  endorsed  in  recent  times,  to  the  extent,  at  least, 
of  the  expression  of  grave  suspicion,  by  Tytler 
(H.  of  Sc,  v.,  chap,  v.),  Burton  (H.  of  Sc,  iii.,  chap, 
xxxvi.),  Cunningham  (H.  of  Ch.  of  Sc.,  i.,  chap,  viii.), 
Stephen  (Scot.  Ch.,  i.,  527,  528),  and  others.  Andrew 
Lang  regards  the  question  as  unsolved  (H.  of  Sc,  i., 

487). 

The  unauthenticity  of  Wishart's  alleged  prophecy 
of  Beaton's  death  "within  few  days"  removes  one 
foundation  of  the  charge.  The  other  two  grounds 
of  suspicion  are:  (1)  Documentary  evidence  (a) 
that  in  April,  1544  "a  Scottish  man  called  Wish- 
art"  carried  from  Scotland  to  England  a  letter  from 
Crighton  of  Brunston,  the  contents  of  which  referred 
to  a  conspiracy  against  the  Cardinal,  and  (b)  that 
the  said  Wishart  had  an  interview  with  Henry  VIII. 
(State  Papers,  Henry  VIII.,  v.,  377).  If  George 
Wishart  did  not  return  to  Scotland  until  May,  1544 
(see  p.  56),  he  could  not,  of  course,  have  been  the 
bearer  of  this  letter.  But,  even  if  he  returned  in 
July  1543,  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  was  the  man 
referred  to.     Dr.  Burton  argues  that  "if  there  had 


1 546]         Early  Reformation  Days  65 

been  another  Wishart  so  important  as  to  get  private 
audience  of  Henry  VIII.,  he  could  be  identified." 
But  secret  agents,  even  between  nobles  and  kings, 
when  the  business  on  hand  is  discreditable,  need 
not  be  persons  of  social  distinction.  The  vague 
designation,  moreover, — "a  Scottish  man  called 
Wishart," — hardly  suggests  a  Master  of  Arts  in  Orders 
who  had  been  a  tutor  in  Cambridge  University.  It 
has  been  ascertained,  however,  that  there  were 
several  Wishart s  of  standing  at  that  time,  including 
a  second  George  Wishart,  who  became  a  baillie  of 
Dundee  some  time  before  1560;  a  third  George 
Wishart  (connected  with  the  Pitarrow  family),  who 
was  a  procurator  in  1565;  and  John  Wishart,  a 
kinsman  of  the  martyr,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
Reforming  Parliament  of  1560.  Any  one  of  these 
may  have  been  the  Wishart  referred  to  in  the  State 
Papers;  particularly  the  last,  who  became  an  as- 
sociate of  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange,  one  of  the  assassins 
of  the  Cardinal  (Rogers,  Life  of  Wishart,  pp.  58,  82- 
87;   Laing,  W.  of  K.,  i.,  536). 

(2)  Wishart  was  undoubtedly,  at  the  close  of  his 
life,  on  terms  of  some  intimacy  with  Crighton,  of 
Brunston;  but  with  the  actual  assassination  of  the 
Cardinal,  Crighton  had  nothing  to  do;  and  even 
if  he  still  cherished  a  murderous  purpose  against 
Beaton,  there  is  no  indication  of  his  having  confided 
his  designs  to  Wishart.  The  Reformer  was  also  on 
intimate  terms  with  the  Earls  of  Glencairn  and 
Cassilis,  and  with  other  members  of  the  English 
party  in  Scotland.  These  were  in  frequent  cor- 
respondence with  representatives  of  Henry  VIII.,  and 
there  is  evidence  of  the  Earl  of  Cassilis  having,   in 


66  John  Knox  [1543- 

May  1545,  corresponded  with  Sadler,  the  English 
ambassador,  regarding  a  "killing  of  the  Cardinal" 
(Tytler,  Hist.,  v.,  460).  But  Wishart's  relations 
with  this  nobleman  and  others  of  the  English  faction 
appear  to  have  been  in  connexion  only  with  his 
preaching,  at  which  they  acted  as  his  protectors. 

While  the  arguments  for  Wishart's  connivance  are 
thus  without  substantial  weight,  the  following  con- 
siderations point  strongly  in  the  opposite  direction: 
(1)  The  Cardinal  was  well  aware  of  plots  against 
his  life.  Had  he  suspected  Wishart  of  complicity 
he  would  have  made  the  most  of  these,  especially 
with  a  view  to  securing  the  Regent's  sanction  (which 
was  withheld)  to  Wishart's  trial  and  execution.  (2) 
No  contemporary  writer,  Catholic  or  Protestant, 
alludes  to  Wishart's  supposed  connexion  with  the 
conspiracy.  (3)  What  is  otherwise  recorded  of 
Wishart  militates  against  his  complicity.  Apart 
from  the  general  testimony  of  Tylney  and  Knox  to 
his  gentleness  of  character,  we  have  (a)  his  demeanour 
at  Mauchline,  when  he  was  excluded  from  the  church 
there,  and  when  his  friends  were  about  to  force  an 
entrance.  "It  is  the  word  of  peace  that  God  sends 
by  me,"  he  declared:  "the  blood  of  no  man  shall  be 
shed  this  day  for  the  preaching  of  it "  (Knox,  H.  of 
R.,  i.,  128).  (b)  At  Dundee,  when  a  priest  attempted 
to  assassinate  him,  and  when  the  infuriated  multitude 
would  have  lynched  the  assassin,  Wishart  "took  him 
in  his  arms,  and  said,  '  Whosoever  troubles  him  shall 
trouble  me'"  (Ibid.,  i.,  131).  (c)  We  have  seen  (p. 
62),  how,  prior  to  his  martyrdom,  he  besought  Christ 
to  forgive  those  who  had  condemned  him.  Unless 
Wishart  was  the  most  shameless  of  hypocrites  (which 


i546]         Early  Reformation  Days  67 

is  not  asserted  by  his  accusers),  he  could  not  have 
uttered  that  prayer,  if  all  the  while  he  was  acces- 
sory to  a  plot  against  Beaton's  life.  It  was  not  the 
living  Reformer,  but  the  dead  martyr,  through  the 
natural  resentment  excited  by  his  execution,  who 
conspired  to  kill  the  Cardinal.1 


1  In  addition  to  works  quoted,  see  a  tract  by  William 
Cramond  of  Cullen  (1898),  The  Truth  about  George  Wishart; 
Andrew  Lang's  article  in  Blackwood,  March,  1898,  on  The 
Truth  about  the  Cardinals  Murder ;  and  Hay  Fleming's  reply 
in  Content.  Rev.,  lxxiv.,  375-389. 


CHAPTER  III 

KNOX  AT  ST.  ANDREWS — HIS  CALL  TO  THE  RE- 
FORMED MINISTRY — HIS  CAPTURE  BY  THE 
FRENCH    AND   EXPERIENCE    IN   THE   GALLEYS 

1546-1549 

THE  assassination  of  Cardinal  Beaton  followed 
within  three  months  after  the  martyrdom 
of  Wishart.  Plots  had  long  been  devised  against 
him,  but  Wishart's  death  was  the  immediate 
occasion  of  the  final  and  successful  conspiracy. 
Early  in  the  morning  of  the  29th  May,  1546,  the 
Primate's  castle  was  surprised  by  an  armed  band 
headed  by  Norman  and  John  Leslie  of  Rothes, 
Kirkcaldy  of  Grange,  and  James  Melville  of  Raith. 
The  Primate  was  found  in  his  bedchamber  and 
solemnly  summoned  to  repent  of  his  wicked  life, 
especially  of  the  shedding  of  Wishart's  blood. 

"That  blood,"  said  Melville,  "cries  for  vengeance, 
and  we  are  sent  from  God  to  revenge  it:  for  here 
before  God  I  protest  that  neither  hatred  of  thy  per- 
son nor  love  of  thy  riches,  nor  fear  of  any  trouble  thou 
couldest  have  done  to  me,  moveth  me  to  strike  thee, 
but  only  because  thou  hast  been  and  remainest  an 
obstinate  enemy  against  Jesus  Christ  and  His  holy 
evangel." 

68 


[1546-1549]  Early  Ministry  69 

''And  so,"  adds  Knox,  "he  struck  him  twice  or 
thrice ;  and  so  he  fell ;  never  a  word  heard  out  of 
his  mouth  but  'lama  priest,  I  am  a  priest :  fy,  fy, 
all  is  gone.' "  x  That  Melville  and  perhaps  others 
of  the  conspirators  sincerely  believed  themselves 
to  be  divinely  appointed  instruments  of  just  re- 
tribution, need  not  be  disputed ;  but  the  familiar 
lines  attributed,  although  on  inadequate  author- 
ity, to  Sir  David  Lyndsay,  express  probably  the 
sentiment  of  most  contemporary  Reformers,  and 
the  general  verdict  of  Protestant  posterity : 

"As  for  the  Cardinal,  I  grant, 
He  was  the  man  we  weel  could  want, 

And  we  '11  forget  him  soon : 
And  yet  I  think  that  sooth  to  say, 
Although  the  loon  be  weel  away, 
The  deed  was  foully  done."  2 

What  bearing  has  the  Tragedy  of  the  Cardinal  on 
the  character  of  Knox  ?  He  had  no  share  in  the  con- 
spiracy and  assassination3 ;  but  unquestionably  he 
condoned  the  murder  after  it  had  taken  place.  Ten 
months  later,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  he  identified 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  174-177. 

2  The  stanza  is  not  contained  in  any  edition  of  Lyndsay's 
Tragedy,  and  the  metre  is  not  the  same.  Wodrow  is  the 
earliest  author  who  ascribes  the  verse  to  Lyndsay.  See  Hay 
Fleming's  editorial  note  in  A.  F.  Mitchell's  Scott.  Ref.,  p.  81. 

3  Knox's  Roman  Catholic  detractor,  James  Laing,  ex- 
pressly accuses  him  of  instigating  the  "removal "  of  the  Cardi- 
nal (De  Vitaet  Moribus  Hereticorum,-p.  113);  but  his  charges 
against  the  Reformers  generally  are  so  virulent  as  to  be  un- 
trustworthy in  the  absence  of  distinct  evidence. 


jo  John  Knox  [i546- 

himself  with  the  conspirators  by  repairing  to  the 
Castle  of  St.  Andrews,  of  which  they  had  taken 
possession  after  committing  the  crime ;  and  in  his 
History  he  refers  to  the  deed  as  a  "godly  fact"  of 
which  he  was  able  to  write  even  "  merrily"  as  one 
of  God's  "  just  judgments,  whereby  he  would  ad- 
monish the  tyrants  of  this  earth  that  in  the  end 
he  would  be  revenged  of  their  cruelty."  l  Knox 
apparently  justified  the  killing  of  Beaton  on  the 
ground  that  when  cruel  oppressors,  instead  of 
being  punished,  are  protected  and  supported  by 
the  civil  authority,  that  authority  ceases  so  far 
to  have  any  claim  to  be  the  "minister  of  God" 
and  the  sole  executive  of  public  justice.  In  such 
circumstances  the  individual  has  the  right  to  in- 
tervene, in  order  to  discharge  a  neglected  corpor- 
ate duty ;  so  long  as  he  avoids  acts  of  revenge 
for  private  wrongs  and  confines  himself  to  retri- 
bution for  public  evil-doing.  The  principle  is 
obviously  a  dangerous  one  and  liable  to  gross 
abuse  in  its  application.  It  may  partly  explain, 
but  cannot  justify,  Knox's  condonation  of  the 
murder;  and  in  any  case  his  "merriness"  in  the 
narration  of  the  tragedy  must  be  condemned. 
One  may  charitably  believe  that  his  ardent  affec- 
tion for  the  martyred  Wishart  helped  to  obscure 
his  vision  and  to  distort  his  judgment.2 

i  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  177,  180. 

2  On  another  occasion,  Knox  was  careful  to  declare  that 
even  prisoners  unjustly  confined  must  not  "shed  any  man's 
blood  for  their  freedom"  (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  229). 


i549]  Early  Ministry  71 

Knox  had  continued,  after  Wishart's  arrest  and 
martyrdom,  to  discharge  the  duties  of  tutor  to 
Francis  and  George  Douglas,  sons  of  the  Laird  of 
Longniddry,  as  well  as  to  Alexander  Cockburn, 
son  of  John  Cockburn  of  Ormiston.1  The  ruins 
of  a  chapel  near  the  site  of  the  former  mansion- 
house  of  Longniddry  still  bear  the  name  of  "  John 
Knox's  Kirk."  2  In  that  chapel,  doubtless,  were 
held  those  readings  from  the  Gospel  of  St.  John 
with  which  Knox  supplemented  his  instruction  in 
"grammar"  and  "human  authors,"  and  to  which 
others  besides  his  three  pupils  were  admitted.3 
As  a  disciple  of  Wishart,  however,  Knox  must 
have  felt,  even  before  the  Cardinal's  death,  that  his 
liberty,  if  not  his  life,  was  in  danger :  and  after  the 
assassination  the  peril  increased.  His  continuous 
residence  at  Longniddry  became  impracticable: 
he  had  to  "remove  from  place  to  place  by  reason 
of  the  persecution  that  came  upon  him,"  at  the 
instance,  he  believed,  of  Beaton's  successor, 
Archbishop  Hamilton.  His  original  purpose,  ac- 
cordingly, was  to  leave  Scotland  for  a  time. 
"Of  England,"   he    declares,  "he    had  then  no 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  185.  Of  Knox's  three  pupils,  the  last- 
named  alone  attained  to  distinction.  An  inscription  on  his 
tomb  at  Ormiston  commemorates  his  "insignem  linguarum 
profession  em  "  and  includes  a  testimony  to  his  learning  by 
George  Buchanan.  Dempster  (Hist.  Keel.,  p.  182)  speaks  of 
having  seen  three  literary  works  by  Alexander  Cockburn, 
who  died  in  1564,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight. 

2  Laing's  note  2  in  W.  of  K.,  i.,  185. 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,i.,  186. 


72  John  Knox  [i546- 

pleasure";  "the  Pope's  name  being  suppressed, 
his  laws  and  corruptions  remained  in  full  vigour"  ; 
but  he  intended  "to  have  visited  the  schools  of 
Germany."  The  anxiety,  however,  of  the  lairds 
of  Longniddry  and  of  Ormiston  to  retain  him  as 
the  tutor  of  their  sons  induced  Knox  to  acquiesce 
in  their  proposal  that  he  should  avail  himself 
of  the  protection  of  the  Castle  of  St.  Andrews, 
and  should  take  his  three  pupils  thither.1  To 
this  deviation,  at  the  instance  of  others,  from  his 
original  purpose  was  due,  humanly  speaking,  the 
transformation  of  Knox  out  of  a  mere  sympa- 
thetic adherent  into  the  protagonist  of  the  Scot- 
tish Reformation. 

Knox  and  his  pupils  arrived  in  April,  1547. 
During  the  autumn  of  1546  the  Castle  had  been 
ineffectually  besieged  by  the  Regent,  whose  own 
son,  captured  at  the  time  of  the  Cardinal's  death, 
had  been  detained  as  a  hostage.  In  December, 
however,  a  truce  had  been  arranged,  according  to 
which  the  Castle  was  to  remain  in  the  hands  of 
the  conspirators  and  their  friends  until  a  "suffi- 
cient absolution"  should  be  received  from  the 
Pope  "for  the  slaughter  of  the  Cardinal."  2  Such 
absolution  was  deemed  necessary  before  the 
surrender  of  the  fortress  and  the  delivery  of  the 
hostages  could  be  accepted  as  the  price  of  civil 
indemnity  for  those  implicated  in  the  crime. 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  185. 

2  Ibid.,  I,  183,  184. 


1549]  Early  Ministry  73 

II.  The  company  within  the  Castle  numbered 
at  this  time  150,1  including  the  conspirators 
themselves  and  those  who  had  joined  them  out  of 
sympathy  or  from  fear  of  persecution.  Among 
the  most  notable  of  the  latter  were  John  Rough,2 
ex-chaplain  of  the  Regent,  who  acted  as  minis- 
ter of  the  Castle  congregation,  and  Henry  Bal- 
naves,  the  Regent's  ex-Secretary  of  State,  a 
leading  promoter  of  the  Act  of  Parliament  in 
1543,  authorising  the  use  of  vernacular  Scripture. 
Among  frequent  guests  at  the  Castle,  although 
not  constant  inmates,  was  Sir  David  Lyndsay, 
the  unsparing  castigator,  as  we  have  seen,  of 
clerical  vice  and  ecclesiastical  abuse,  whose  Trag- 
edy of  the  Cardinal  had  been  issued  shortly  before 
Knox's  arrival.3  The  "Castilians"  appear  to 
have  been  rather  a  "mixed  multitude"  as  re- 
gards character.  On  the  one  hand,  there  were 
godly  men  in  whom  Knox  recognised  a  genuine 
"Congregation  of  the  Faithful";  on  the  other 
hand,  regarding  a  large  proportion  of  the  garrison, 

1  Keith,  Church  and  State  in  Sc.,  i.,  124. 

2  Rough,  who  retired  to  Kyle  in  Ayrshire  after  the  Re- 
gent's recantation,  had  repaired  to  St.  Andrews  on  hearing 
of  Beaton's  death.  He  left  St.  Andrews  prior  to  the  capture 
of  the  Castle,  and  resided  for  six  years  in  England,  holding 
a  benefice  near  Hull.  At  Edward  VI. 's  death,  he  fled  to 
Friesland;  but  during  a  visit  to  London  in  1557  he  was  ar- 
rested, and  burnt  at  Smithfield.  (Calderwood,  H.  of  the 
Kirk,  i.,  251 ;  Laing's  note  in  Knox's  H.  of  R.,  i.,  187.) 

3  Compare  line  267  with  date  of  printing  as  given  by  Laing, 
Works  of  Sir  David  Lyndsay,  i.,  371. 


74  John  Knox  [i546- 

he  testifies  sorrowfully  to  "their  corrupt  life";1 
and  George  Buchanan  accuses  them  of  "depreda- 
tions with  fire  and  sword"  as  well  as  of  gross 
impiety  and  immorality,  "from  which  they  could 
not  be  restrained  by  Knox's  frequent  admoni- 
tions." 2  The  Reformer  continued  in  the  Castle 
chapel  at  St.  Andrews  those  semi-public  exposi- 
tions of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  which  he  had 
begun  in  the  chapel  at  Longniddry.  His  pupils 
were  also  instructed  in  a  Catechism,3  "  an  account 
of  which  he  caused  them  to  give  publicly  in  the 
parish  Kirk" ;  an  incidental  evidence  that  the  re- 
lations between  the  "Castilians"  and  the  ecclesi- 
astical authorities  were  at  this  juncture  moderately 
friendly.4  It  was  not  long  before  the  tutor  of 
boys  was  called  to  become  the  leader  of  men. 
The  Bible  readings  and  catechetical  exercises 
were  attended  by  a  numerous  audience :  and  the 
more    intelligent    hearers   soon    discovered    that 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  204. 
2H.  ofSc,  Book  xv.,  folio  179. 

3  Possibly  the  Catechism  of  Calvin  (published  in  Latin, 
1538),  which  Wishart  might  have  brought  home  from  Swit- 
zerland along  with  the  Helvetian  Confession.  The  First 
Book  of  Discipline  directed  it  to  be  introduced  into  the 
Scottish  Church  (1560)  as  "the  most  perfect  that  ever  yet 
was  used"  (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  239). 

4  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  186.  Prior  to  the  settlement  in  1549 
of  the  recently  appointed  Primate  Hamilton,  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal government  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Vicar-general  Wyn- 
ram  (afterwards  a  Protestant  Superintendent  of  Fife),  who 
already  sympathised  with  the  Reformation. 


Pulpit  from  which  Knox  preached  in  the  town  church  of  St.  Andrew's. 
(Now  in  the  University  Building.) 


iS49]  Early  Ministry  75 

they  had  among  themselves  a  man  of  gifts  and 
power.  Rough,  in  particular,  a  preacher  "with- 
out corruption"  and  "well  liked  of  the  people," 
but  "not  the  most  learned,"  soon  realised  that 
for  pulpit  ministry  to  the  Castle  garrison,  for 
the  conversion  of  the  citizens  to  evangelical 
doctrine,  and  above  all  for  controversy  with 
the  divines  of  the  Church  and  University,  a 
preacher  more  eloquent,  more  erudite,  and  more 
powerful  in  argument  than  himself  was  required. 
With  fine  self-abnegation,  accordingly,  he  joined 
with  Balnaves  in  pressing  on  Knox  privately  the 
office  of  preacher.  At  first  Knox  "utterly  re- 
fused." His  ordination  as  a  priest  by  Roman 
hands  was  for  him  no  adequate  warrant:  and  he 
declared  to  his  friends  that  he  "would  not  run 
where  God  had  not  called  him; "  meaning — so  he 
himself  interprets  the  utterance — that  he  would 
do  nothing  "without  a  lawful  vocation."  ' 

The  "  lawful  vocation"  was  not  long  of  coming. 
Rough  and  Balnaves  took  counsel  with  Lyndsay 
and  others;  and  the  outcome  was  a  formal  call 
to  the  ministry  of  the  Castle  congregation.  Knox 
himself  gives  a  graphic  description  of  the  scene. 
It  was  at  the  ordinary  service,  and  apparently 
Knox  had  received  no  warning  of  what  was 
intended;  but  the  subject  of  Rough's  sermon — 
the  right  of  a  congregation  to  choose  as  their 
minister  one  in  whom  they  discerned  the  gift  of 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  184-186. 


76  John  Knox  [i546- 

God,  and  the  heavy  responsibility  of  refusing  such 
a  call — prepared  him  for  the  personal  application. 

''Brother,  ye  shall  not  be  offended,"  said  Rough, 
"  albeit  I  speak  unto  you  that  which  I  have  in  charge, 
even  from  all  those  that  are  here  present,  which  is 
this:  In  the  name  of  God  and  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ, 
and  in  the  name  of  these  that  presently  call  you  by 
my  mouth,  I  charge  you  that  ye  refuse  not  this  holy 
vocation:  but  that  as  ye  tender  the  glory  of  God,  the 
increase  of  Christ's  kingdom,  the  edification  of  your 
brethren  and  the  comfort  of  me,  whom  ye  understand 
well  enough  to  be  oppressed  by  the  multitude  of 
labours,  that  ye  take  upon  you  the  public  office  and 
charge  of  preaching,  even  as  ye  look  to  avoid  God's 
heavy  displeasure,  and  desire  that  He  shall  multiply 
His  graces  with  you." 

The  preacher  concluded  by  publicly  asking  those 
present  whether  he  had  not  fulfilled  their  charge. 
When  an  answer  in  the  affirmative  had  been  given, 
"the  said  John,  abashed,  burst  forth  in  most 
abundant  tears  and  withdrew  himself  to  his  cham- 
ber" ;  and  "  no  man  saw  any  sign  of  mirth  of  him, 
neither  yet  had  he  pleasure  to  accompany  any 
man,  many  days  together."  l  The  call,  however, 
was  not  declined :  and  an  occasion  for  the  inaugur- 
ation of  Knox's  ministry  soon  presented  itself. 

III.  Among  the  notable  divines  of  St.  An- 
drews at  this  time  was  Dean  John  Annand,  Prin- 
cipal of  St.   Leonard's  College,   who   "had  long 

i  Knox,  H.  of  R.,L,  186-188. 


i549]  Early  Ministry  77 

troubled  Rough  in  his  preaching."  Knox  had 
already  supported  his  colleague  in  some  contro- 
versy with  a  tract,  which  has  perished ;  and  the 
Dean  had  been  constrained  to  fall  back  on  the 
authority  of  the  Church,  whose  condemnation,  he 
argued,  of  the  new  doctrine  rendered  further  dis- 
putation superfluous.  At  the  close  of  a  sermon 
to  this  effect  by  Annand,  Knox  publicly  offered 
to  prove  that  "the  Roman  Kirk,  as  now  cor- 
rupted, was  the  synagogue  of  Satan";  that  "the 
Pope  was  the  Man  of  Sin,  of  whom  the  Apostle 
speaks,"  and  that  neither  accordingly  possessed 
the  authority  which  the  preacher  had  claimed. 
Scotsmen  are  notoriously  fond  of  a  theological 
tournament;  and  those  present  "cried  with  one 
consent :  '  let  us  hear  the  probation  of  that  which 
ye  have  now  affirmed  '."  The  following  Sunday 
was  appointed  for  the  purpose.  Knox  has  pre- 
served a  summary  of  this  first  sermon  after  his 
call,  preached  before  his  now  aged  preceptor, 
John  Major,  before  his  future  colleague  in 
the  Reformation,  Vicar-general  Wynram;  and 
before  numerous  canons  and  friars,  as  well  as  lay 
enquirers.  Taking  Daniel  vii.,  24,  25  as  a  text, 
he  showed  how  the  lives  of  clergy,  from  popes 
downwards;  how  the  doctrines  of  the  Church, 
particularly  that  of  justification  through  "works 
of  man's  invention";  how  ecclesiastical  enact- 
ments such  as  clerical  celibacy,  compulsory 
fasting,  and  observance  of  days;   and  how  such 


;8  John  Knox  [i546- 

"  blasphemous  "  pretensions  as  those  which  claimed 
papal  infallibility  and  power  over  purgatory — all 
combined  to  prove  that  the  Roman  Church  was 
not  Christ's  body,  but  the  "whore  of  Babylon," 
and  the  Pope  not  the  "Vicar  of  Christ"  but 
"Antichrist."  Knox's  sermon  became  the  talk 
of  the  town.  "Others,"  it  was  said,  "sned 
[lopped]  the  branches  of  the  Papistry;  but  he 
strikes  at  the  root,  to  destroy  the  whole."  "  Wish- 
art,"  some  declared,  "spake  never  so  plainly,  and 
yet  he  was  burnt:  even  so  will  he  be";  while 
others  warned  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church  not 
to  rely  on  "fire  and  sword"  as  "defences";  since 
"  men  now  have  other  eyes  than  they  had  then."  * 
Archbishop  Hamilton  heard  with  astonishment 
of  the  heresy  allowed  to  be  preached  in  his  metro- 
politan city,  and  he  sent  to  his  Vicar-general  a 
letter  of  remonstrance  against  such  scandalous  tol- 
eration. Wynram  found  himself  constrained  to 
take  some  action.  He  summoned  Rough  and  Knox 
to  a  theological  convention  in  St.  Leonard's  Col- 
lege ;  but  he  stated  at  the  outset  that  the  object 
of  the  gathering  was  not  a  judicial  trial,  but 
a  friendly  colloquy.  Passing  by  the  main  points 
at  issue,  regarding  which  he  was  anxious,  proba- 
bly, to  avoid  committing  himself,  the  Vicar-gen- 
eral opened  discussion  on  the  comparatively  minor 
question  of  the  lawfulness  of  certain  ecclesiasti- 
cal ceremonies.     On  this  subject  Wynram  main- 

i  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  189-192. 


i549]  Early  Ministry  79 

tained  the  moderate  position  that  ceremonies 
which  have  a  "godly  signification"  are  lawful, 
although  not  prescribed  by  the  Word  of  God; 
while  Knox  took  his  stand  on  what  afterwards 
became  known  as  the  Puritan  doctrine,  that 
nothing  in  worship  is  pleasing  to  God  or  lawful 
for  man  except  what  "God  in  express  words  has 
commanded."  At  this  stage  the  Vicar  handed 
over  the  argument  to  a  Franciscan  friar,  Arbuckle 
by  name,  who  had  probably  shown  himself  eager 
to  enter  the  lists.  Arbuckle,  less  cautious  than 
Wynram,  undertook  to  demonstrate  not  merely 
the  lawfulness  but  the  divine  institution  of  various 
ceremonies  (such  as  the  use  of  oil,  salt,  candles, 
spittle,  etc.,  in  baptism);  and  ere  long  was  en- 
tangled by  his  opponent  into  the  position  that 
when  the  Apostles  wrote  their  Epistles,  in  which 
there  is  no  reference  to  such  observances,  "they 
had  not  yet  received  the  Holy  Spirit."  "  Father, 
what  say  ye? "  interposed  the  Vicar-general.  "  God 
forbid  that  ye  affirm  that;  for  then  farewell  the 
ground  of  our  faith."  The  discomfited  friar 
failed  to  recover  himself :  the  discussion  was  not 
prolonged:  other  things  were  "scooft  over";  and 
after  this  (so  Knox  declares)  the  Roman  party 
"had  no  great  heart  for  further  disputation." 
The  Vicar-general  did  not  encourage  discussion; 
and  the  Roman  clergy  adopted  the  prudent  ar- 
rangement that  henceforth  the  Sunday  sermon 
in  the  parish  church  should  always  be  preached 


80  John  Knox  [is46- 

by  one  of  themselves.  Knox's  teaching  was  thus 
relegated  to  week-days,  when  the  congregation 
was  smaller,  and  the  Roman  preachers  avoided 
controversial  topics,  delivering  "  sermons  penned 
to  offend  no  man."  ' 

The  labours  of  Knox  were  abundantly  fruitful. 
"A  great  number  of  the  town  openly  professed" 
Reformed  doctrine;  and  he  was  emboldened  to 
take  a  step  which  inaugurated  a  significant  de- 
velopment in  Protestant  organisation.  Hitherto 
adherents  of  the  Reformation  movement  either 
abstained  from  a  participation  in  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, at  least  in  public,  or  took  part  in  the 
mass  with  an  express  or  a  tacit  repudiation 
of  the  superstitious  observances  connected  with 
the  celebration.  Knox  was  the  first,  apparently, 
in  Scotland  to  introduce  the  public  celebration  of 
the  Sacrament  (probably  in  the  Castle  chapel) 
according  to  a  Reformed  ritual  and  without  any 
acknowledgment  of  transubstantiation.  The  Pro- 
testant movement  began  thus  to  be  transformed 
into  the  establishment  of  a  Reformed  Church.2 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  192-201.  Knox  himself  is  our  sole 
authority  for  the  incidents  above  described;  but  we  may 
presume  he  would  be  particularly  careful  to  relate  accurately 
proceedings  in  which  Wynram,  his  own  colleague  in  the  min- 
istry of  the  Reformed  Church,  was  concerned. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  201-202.  Wishart  is  said  to  have  privately  cele- 
brated the  Holy  Communion  in  the  Castle  on  the  morning 
of  his  execution  (Geo.  Buchanan,  H.  of  Sc.,B.  xv.,  folio  178; 
but  Knox  is  silent  as  to  this  incident.  It  is  probable  that 
Wishart  celebrated  the  Lord's  Supper  privately  at  Dun  (see 
A.  F.  Mitchell,  Scott.  Ref.,  p.  78). 


i549]  Early  Ministry  81 

IV.  Meanwhile,  about  midsummer,  the  papal 
absolution  of  the  conspirators  arrived ;  but  owing 
to  the  ambiguous  terms — "  remittimus  irremis- 
sibile" — the  garrison  refrained  from  making  a 
surrender,  which  they  were  now  inclined  to  post- 
pone through  fresh  hope  of  succour  from  Eng- 
land. Before  the  end  of  June,  however,  foreign 
intervention  took  place  from  a  different  quarter. 
In  response  to  the  Regent's  repeated  appeals,  a 
fleet  of  twenty-one  French  galleys  arrived  before 
St.  Andrews;  while  the  Scottish  army  co-operated 
on  land.  Eventually  (after  a  month)  the  simul- 
taneous assault  by  land  and  sea,  combined  with 
an  outbreak  of  pestilence  and  the  cutting  off  of 
supplies,  led  to  the  garrison  (120  in  all)  surrender- 
ing on  fair  conditions.  According  to  Knox,  their 
lives  were  to  be  spared:  they  were  to  be  trans- 
ported to  France:  thereafter  they  were  to  be 
removed  at  the  French  king's  expense  to  any 
country  except  Scotland  which  each  prisoner 
might  select.1 

Knox  had  forewarned  the  garrison  of  impend- 
ing trouble,  as  the  manifestation  of  divine  dis- 
pleasure at  their  evil  doings.  Before  any  French 
galley  had  appeared,  "  from  the  time  he  was  called 
to  preach,"  he  testified  that  "their  corrupt  life 
could  not  escape  punishment  of  God."  While  the 
garrison  were  rejoicing  over  early  successes,  "he 
lamented,  and  ever  said  they  saw  not  what  he 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  203-206.     See  note,  p.  82. 
6 


82  John  Knox  [i546- 

saw."  When  they  boasted  of  the  Castle's  strong 
and  thick  walls,  he  replied  that  these  would  prove 
to  be  "egg-shells."  When  they  reckoned  con- 
fidently on  rescue  by  an  English  army,  he  had 
predicted,  "Ye  shall  be  delivered  into  your 
enemies'  hands."  * 

The  conditions  on  which  the  garrison  are  stated 
to  have  surrendered  were  not  faithfully  fulfilled. 
The  lives  of  the  "Castilians"  were  spared:  but 
instead  of  liberty  on  arrival  in  France,  and  the 
choice  of  an  abode  thereafter,  all  were  either  com- 
mitted to  prison  or  consigned  to  the  galleys.2 
Among  those  who  endured  the  latter  form  of 
bondage  was  Knox.     About  a  year  and  a  half  of 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  204-205. 

2  Tytler  (H.  of  Sc,  vi.,  17)  and  Andrew  Lang  (H.  ofSc,  ii., 
18)  decline  to  accept  Knox's  statement  of  the  conditions, 
and  therefore  question  his  charge  of  bad  faith.  Buchanan 
(B.  XV.,  fol.  179)  speaks  of  the  garrison  as  " incolumitatem 
modo  pacti,"  a  phrase  which  may  mean  either  that  they 
were  guaranteed  merely  against  personal  injury,  or  that  their 
lives  only  were  to  be  spared.  Lesley  (Vern.  Hist,  of  Sc, 
p.  194)  limits  the  promise  to  the  sparing  of  their  lives 
"if  the  King  of  France  thought  this  to  be  done."  It  is 
of  course  possible  that  Knox  confused  the  terms  asked  for 
with  the  terms  granted  (as  Lang  suggests) ;  but  the  Reformer's 
statement  on  a  matter  in  which  he  was  personally  concerned 
is  very  precise;  and  it  is  more  probable,  that  the  descrip- 
tions of  Buchanan  and  Lesley  were  founded  on  what  actually 
was  done  with  the  captured  men.  Knox,  moreover,  accounts 
definitely  for  the  alleged  breach  of  faith,  as  owing  partly  to  a 
letter  from  the  Pope  to  the  King  of  France  counselling 
"severity,"  and  partly  to  an  embassy  from  Scotland  demand- 
ing that  "those  of  the  Castle  should  be  sharply  handled" 
(Knox,  H.  of  R.,i.,  207). 


i549]  Early  Ministry  S3 

his  life,  from  September,  1547,  were  spent  in  the 
galley  service.  What  his  normal  experience 
probably  was  may  be  realised  from  the  descrip- 
tion of  a  Huguenot  galley-bondman  during  the 
persecution  which  followed  the  revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes  in  1685.  Food  and  clothing 
were  scant  and  coarse :  shelter  from  the  elements 
was  allowed  only  in  winter.  The  galleymen  were 
"chained  by  the  neck  in  couples,"  and  were  so 
bound  to  the  benches  that  they  could  "neither 
sit  nor  stand  upright,"  nor  yet  "lie  down  at  full 
length."  At  night  they  slept  under  the  benches, 
closely  packed  together,  "ona  little  straw  gnawed 
by  rats  and  mice."  They  were  sometimes  obliged 
to  row  ten  or  twelve  hours  without  interruption ; 
and  their  labours  were  stimulated  by  frequent 
strokes  of  the  cowhide  whip  and  by  fear  of  the 
more  terrible  bastinado.  Any  galleyman  who 
professed  to  be  wounded  or  infirm  was  lashed 
"to  discover  whether  he  was  not  feigning." 
All  the  time  their  faith  was  tried  by  constant  as- 
surances poured  into  their  ears  by  the  chaplain, 
that  by  renouncing  Protestantism  they  would 
obtain  immediate  liberation.1  Long  afterwards 
Knox  referred  to  the  ' '  torment ' '  which  he  sustained 
in  the  galleys ;  to  the  "  sobs  of  his  heart"  ;  to  his 
feet  "chained  in  the  prison  of  his  dolour";    and 


1  See  Autobiography  of  a  French  Protestant  (Jean  Marteilhe), 
trans,  from  the  French  (R.  T.  5.),  pp.  69,  81,  134,  203,  209, 
213. 


84  John  Knox  [i546- 

to  his  "lying  in  irons,  sore  troubled  by  corporal 
infirmity,  in  a  galley  named  Notre  Dame."  x 

Knox,  however,  was  not  the  man  to  sink  under 
tribulation.  "From  the  very  day  they  entered 
into  the  galleys" — so  he  testifies  2 — he  declared 
that  God  would  deliver  them  "from  that  bondage 
to  His  glory,  even  in  this  life."  Through  three 
recorded  incidents  during  this  period  we  catch 
glimpses  of  his  uniform  hopefulness  amid  occa- 
sional depression,  of  his  power  of  mental  effort 
amid  bodily  affliction,  and  of  that  vein  of  humour 
which  helped  him,  to  bear  patiently  misfortune  and 
malice,  (i.)  Persistent  efforts  were  at  first  made 
to  entice  or  threaten  the  Scottish  captives  into  con- 
formity to  Roman  usages.  One  Saturday,  at 
Nantes,  the  Salve  Regina  was  sung,  and  a  painted 
wooden  image  of  the  Virgin  was  brought  to 
be  devoutly  kissed.  When  the  image  was  "pre- 
sented to  one  of  the  Scottish  men"  (not  improb- 
ably to  Knox  himself,  who  relates  the  incident) 

i  H.  of  R.,  i.,  349;  Epis.  Dedic.  prefixed  to  Knox's  summary 
of  Balnaves's  Justification  by  Faith  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  8). 
We  can  hardly  doubt,  also,  that  the  Reformer  had  this 
period  of  his  life  in  mind  when  in  his  Treatise  on  Prayer 
(Laing,  W.  of  K.%  iii.,  89,  10 1)  he  speaks  of  having  called  to 
God  "with  sore  oppressed  heart  from  the  deep  pit  of  tribula- 
tion," and  when  in  the  same  writing  he  recalls  the  "grudg- 
ing and  murmuring  complaints  of  the  flesh,"  and  the  "anger, 
wrath,  and  indignation  which  it  conceiveth  against  God,  call- 
ing all  His  promises  in  doubt."  Partial  relief,  indeed,  must, 
occasionally,  have  been  given,  for  Knox  was  able  to  do  some 
literary  work  (see  p.  85  and  Stalker,  John  Knox,  27). 

2  H.  of  R.,  i.,  228. 


i549]  Early  Ministry  85 

he  refused  to  touch  what  he  called  "ane  idol  ac- 
cursed." The  "  painted  brod"  was  then  violently 
thrust  in  his  face  and  put  between  his  hands; 
whereupon  the  indignant  Protestant  threw  the 
image  into  the  Loire,  exclaiming,  "  Let  our  Lady 
now  save  herself;  she  is  lycht  aneuch."  "After 
that,"  adds  Knox,  "was  no  Scottish  man  urged 
with  that  idolatry."  l  (2)  A  second  notable  in- 
cident took  place  in  the  winter  of  1548,  when 
Knox's  galley  lay  at  Rouen,  and  his  fellow- 
captive,  Henry  Balnaves,  was  imprisoned  in  the 
palace  of  that  city.  Balnaves  had  been  occupy- 
ing his  leisure  with  the  composition  of  his  treatise 
on  Justification  by  Faith,  and  had  somehow 
got  it  put  into  the  Reformer's  hands  for  revisal. 
In  spite  of  what,  with  grim  humour,  Knox 
calls  "incommodity  of  place,  as  well  as  imbecil- 
ity of  mind"  (the  result  of  excessive  manual 
labour  and  bodily  infirmity),  he  contrived  to  edit 
his  friend's  treatise,  dividing  it  for  convenience 
into  chapters,  drawing  up  a  "summary,"  adding 
annotations,  and  preparing  a  "commendatory 
Epistle."  The  work  thus  revised  and  supple- 
mented was  despatched  to  Scotland:  it  consti- 
tutes a  remarkable  memorial  of  literary  labour  in 
circumstances  the  most  unfavourable.2  (3)  The 
third   incident   occurred   while  the   Notre  Dame 


1  H.  of  R.,  i.,  227. 

2  Laing,    W.   of  K.,  iii.,   4,   8,   9.     For  some  unexplained 
reason  the  work  was  not  published  until  after  Knox's  death. 


86  John  Knox  [.546- 

happened  to  be  lying  between  Dundee  and  St. 
Andrews.1  Knox  was  so  ill  at  the  time  that 
"few  hoped  his  life."  Sir  James  Balfour,  then  a 
trusted  friend  and  fellow-captive,  although  after- 
wards he  proved  himself  unworthy  of  the  Re- 
former's confidence,2  bade  him  "look  at  the  land, 
and  asked  him  if  he  knew  it." 

"Yes,"  was  the  reply,  "I  know  it  well;  for  I  see 
the  steeple  of  the  place  where  God  first  opened  my 
mouth  in  public  to  His  glory:  and  I  am  fully  per- 
suaded, how  weak  that  ever  I  now  appear,  that  I 
shall  not  depart  this  life  until  my  tongue  shall  glorify 
His  godly  name  in  the  same  place."  3 

Knox  had  no  scruple  about  advising  some  of  his 
friends  who  asked  his  counsel — Kirkcaldy,  Kirk- 
michael,  Robert  and  William  Leslie, — to  make 
their  escape  from  prison,  provided  they  could  do 
so  without  bloodshed ;  and  in  this,  eventually,  they 
succeeded.  For  a  chained  galley-man  to  escape 
was  much  more  difficult;    and  Knox  does  not 


i  It  was  probably  one  of  the  galleys  which  in  June,  1548, 
brought  over  from  France  an  army  of  6000  to  help  the  Scots 
in  their  conflict  with  England  (And.  Lang,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  12). 

2  Spottiswoode  (Hist.,  i.,  177)  states  that  he  obtained  his 
freedom  by  "abjuring  his  profession."  He  returned  to 
Scotland,  was  appointed  Official  of  Lothian  by  the  Primate, 
and  eventually  in  1567  became  Lord  President  of  the  Court 
of  Session  (Laing,  notes  on  Knox's  H.  of  R.,  i.,  202,  235). 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  228.  He  states  that  Balfour  reported 
this  incident  "in  presence  of  famous  witnesses  many  years 
before"  his  (Knox's)  final  return  to  Scotland. 


i549]  Early  Ministry  87 

appear  ever  to  have  attempted  it.  He  was 
"assured  that  God  would  deliver  them,"  and  was 
content  to  "abide  for  a  season  upon  His  good 
pleasure."  *  There  is  some  uncertainty  about  the 
circumstances  of  his  release,  which  took  place  in 
February  or  March,  1549  2:  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  its  being  due  to  negotiations  for  the 
exchange  of  prisoners.  These  negotiations  were 
initiated  by  the  English  3  with  the  Scottish  and 
French  Governments  so  early  as  the  spring  of 
1548;  and  they  issued  ultimately  in  the  deliver- 
ance of  all  who  had  surrendered  at  St.  Andrew's, 
except  James  Melville  of  Carnbee  who  had  died  a 
natural  death  in  the  Castle  of  Brest.* 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  228-230. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  31. 

3  Knox  and  his  gifts  would  become  known  to  the  English 
Government  through  Balnaves,  who  had  twice  visited  the 
English  Court  on  business  during  his  abode  at  the  Castle  of 
St.  Andrews  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  410). 

4  See  Bain,  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  i.,  102,  containing 
letter  of  Huntly  to  Somerset,  29th  March,  1548;  Tytler, 
Reigns  of  Edw.  VI.  and  Mary,  i.,  295  ;   Knox,  H.  ofR.,i.,  233. 


CHAPTER  IV 

JOHN  KNOX  IN   ENGLAND — THE  PIONEER  OF  PURI- 
TANISM 

1549-1554 

DURING  the  year  and  a  half  of  Knox's  servi- 
tude as  a  galley-man  the  Reformation  cause 
in  Scotland  made  little  progress,  owing  partly  to 
the  lack  of  any  notable  Reforming  preacher,  and 
partly  to  renewed  suspicion,  among  many  other- 
wise inclined  towards  Protestantism,  of  the  Eng- 
lish alliance  with  which  the  religious  question  had 
been  complicated.  The  vindictive  devastation  of 
Scotland  by  the  English  in  1544,  after  the  matri- 
monial negotiations  had  been  broken  off,  had  not 
been  forgotten;  and  Romanism  was  still  widely 
identified  with  patriotism.  Henry  VIII.  had  died 
early  in  1547 ;  but  his  favourite  policy  of  annexing 
Scotland  to  England  by  marriage  contract  did 
not  die  with  him.  About  a  month  after  the  cap- 
ture of  St.  Andrews  by  the  French,  a  large  army 
under  Protector  Somerset  crossed  the  Border.  It 
came  to  force  upon  Scotland  a  renewal  of  that 
betrothal  between  Edward  VI.  and  Mary  Stuart, 


[1549-1554]  In  England  89 

to  which  the  Scottish  Parliament  had  assented  in 
1543,  during  the  brief  period  of  Protestant  ascend- 
ency. Somerset  had  counted  on  the  support  of 
the  Reformers  in  Scotland:  but  even  those  who 
approved  of  the  marriage  did  not  welcome  the 
invasion:  it  was  "not  the  right  way  to  woo 
and  win  a  woman."  l  At  such  a  juncture  the 
Roman  clergy  showed  themselves  at  their  best. 
The  Primate  united  with  the  Regent  in  raising  an 
army  to  resist  the  English.  The  sinews  of  war 
came  largely  from  the  higher  clergy:  and  at  the 
battle  of  Pinkie,  on  10th  September,  1547.  as 
Knox  records,  with  involuntary  admiration  which 
tempers  his  detestation,  "  No  men  were  stouter 
than  the  priests  and  canons."  2  The  battle  re- 
sulted in  the  defeat  of  the  Scots  with  the  loss  of 
10,000  men :  but  the  issue,  nevertheless,  was  a  moral 
discomfiture  for  England  and  the  English  policy, 
while  it  added  moral  strength  to  the  Roman  cause 
in  Scotland.  Somerset  was  not  strong  enough  to 
follow  up  his  victory :  he  effected  nothing  but  the 
humiliation  and  irritation  of  the  people  whom  it 
was  his  interest  to  conciliate.  The  Primate  and 
his  fellow-prelates,  on  the  other  hand,  were  glori- 
fied in  the  eyes  of  the  nation,  as  the  patriotic, 
even  if  unfortunate,  champions  of  Scottish  inde- 

1  Mary  of  Guise,  in  an  interview  with  Edward  VI.,  in  No- 
vember, 1 55 1,  expressly  attributed  to  Somerset's  invasion 
the  final  withdrawal  of  Scotland  from  the  proposed  matri- 
monial alliance.     See  Keith,  Ch.  and  State  in  Sc,  i.,  138. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i..  20Q.  210. 


90  John  Knox  [iS49- 

pendence;  while  the  cause  of  Reform  was  in- 
jured by  its  association,  even  indirectly,  with 
English  aggression.  The  Roman  party,  moreover, 
made  the  most  of  a  document,  found  among 
the  papers  of  Balnaves  in  the  Castle  of  St. 
Andrews,  containing  the  signatures  of  two  hun- 
dred noblemen  and  gentlemen  who  had  secretly 
bound  themselves  to  the  service  of  England.1 
Renewed  English  invasions  in  the  winter  and 
spring  of  1547-48,  and  the  arrival  in  June  of  a 
French  army  of  6000  to  assist  the  Scots  in  their 
straits,  strengthened  the  Romanist  party  in 
Scotland  which  favoured  a  French  against  an 
English  alliance.  The  way  was  thus  prepared 
for  the  betrothal  in  July  of  Mary  Stuart  to  the 
Dauphin  with  the  approval  of  the  Estates;  and 
before  the  end  of  that  month  the  young  queen 
was  despatched  to  the  country  which  for  thirteen 
years  was  to  be  her  home.2 

Even  before  the  capture  of  St.  Andrews,  in  the 
summer  of  1547,  the  resumption  of  persecution 
had  been  foreshadowed  by  a  resolution  of  the 
Privy  Council,  in  response  to  a  petition  from  the 
clergy,  to  enforce  the  laws  against  heresy.3     After 

1  Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  vi.,  19,  20.  Among  the  two  hundred 
were  the  Earls  Marischal,  Cassilis,  and  Both  well.  Comp. 
Hay  Fleming,  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  p.  192,  who  gives  evi- 
dence of  Argyll  having  ' '  received  a  thousand  crowns  to  incline 
him  to  the  marriage."  For  evidence  of  Glencairn's  treachery 
see  Bain,  Cat.  St.  Pap.,  i.,  10. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  214-216;  Diur.  of  Occur.,  pp.  46,  47. 

3  Robertson,  Statuta,  i.,  p.  cxlvi. 


is54]  In  England  91 

Hamilton's  settlement  in  his  See,  accordingly,  it 
was  only  to  be  expected  that  Church  and  State 
would  combine  in  a  policy  of  repression.  At  a 
Provincial  Church  Council  held  at  Edinburgh  in 
November,  1549,  along  with  the  laudable  enact- 
ment of  some  reforming  canons,  it  was  resolved  to 
make  a  "diligent  inquisition  as  to  heresies."  x 
The  return  of  Knox  to  Scotland  at  this  time,  even 
if  the  terms  of  his  liberation  allowed  it,  must  thus 
have  appeared  perilous  for  himself  and  useless 
for  the  cause.  Gratitude  to  the  English  Govern- 
ment which  had  secured  his  release :  sympathy  so 
far  with  Cranmer  and  other  Reformers  who  were 
endeavouring  to  make  the  English  Church  not 
merely  anti-papal  but  genuinely  Protestant;  and 
the  conviction  that  his  vocation  to  the  ministry 
could  not  meanwhile  be  effectively  fulfilled  in  his 
native  land — combined  to  induce  Knox  to  accept 
an  invitation  to  settle  in  England.2 

At  the  time  of  Henry  VIII. 's  death  the  Church 
of  England  differed  from  the  Church  of  Rome  in 

1  Robertson,  Statuta,  ii.,  81,  127.  For  reasons  afterwards 
to  be  stated,  however,  there  was  only  one  very  notable  out- 
come of  this  fresh  inquisition.     See  Chap.  VII.,  p.  183. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,i.,  231 ;  Lorimer,  John  K.  and  the  Church 
of  England,  p.  5.  Knox's  anxiety  to  resume  the  vocation  of 
the  ministry  somewhere  is  shown  by  his  prayer,  written 
towards  the  close  of  his  servitude  in  the  galleys,  and  incor- 
porated in  the  Epistle  Dedicatory  prefixed  to  Balnaves's 
Justification  by  Faith  :  "Continue,  O  Lord,  and  grant  unto  us 
that  as  now  with  pen  and  ink,  so  shortly  we  may  confess 
with  voice  and  tongue,  the  same  [Confession  of  our  Faith] 
before  Thy  Congregation"  (Laing,  YV.  of  K.,  iii.,  9). 


92  John  Knox  [i549- 

little  more  than  the  repudiation  of  the  papacy, 
the  suppression  of  the  monasteries,  and  the  au- 
thorised use  of  a  vernacular  Bible  and  liturgy.  By 
the  spring  of  1549,  when  Knox  arrived,  consider- 
able progress  had  been  made,  under  the  direction 
of  Cranmer  and  the  Protector,  notwithstanding 
the  indifference  or  opposition  of  the  majority 
of  the  English  clergy.  Images  which  had  been 
idolatrously  venerated  were  removed;  Reformed 
Homilies  and  a  Protestant  Catechism  had  been 
introduced;  the  Cup  had  been  restored  to  the 
laity  in  Holy  Communion;  the  earlier  English 
Prayer-book  of  Edward  VI.  had  come  into  use; 
marriage  of  the  clergy  had  been  legalised. 
Knox  was  conscious  of  his  gifts ;  and  England 
presented  a  favourable  field  of  labour  with  a 
fairly  congenial  environment. 

The  Reformer  was  by  no  means  the  first  Scot- 
tish Protestant  who  entered  the  service  of  the 
English  Church.  In  1535,  under  Henry  VIII., 
through  Cranmer's  influence,  Alexander  Alane, 
the  friend  of  Patrick  Hamilton,  held  a  lecture- 
ship in  divinity  at  Cambridge:  he  is  believed 
to  have  been  the  first  in  that  university  who  ex- 
pounded the  Old  Testament  in  the  original.1 
During  the  same  reign  and  in  the  same  univer- 
sity, as  we  have  seen,  Wishart  had  propagated 
evangelical  truth.  Four  distinguished  Scottish 
Dominicans,    also,  had   rendered    similar   service 

1  A.  F.  Mitchell,  Scott.  Re}.,  266. 


1554]  In  England  93 

in  England.  Alexander  Seton,  had  become 
chaplain  to  the  Duke  of  Suffolk  and  a  popular 
London  preacher.1  John  MacAlpine  had  been 
presented  to  a  canonry  of  Salisbury  Cathedral.2 
Thomas  William,  Knox's  earliest  instructor  in 
the  Reformed  faith,  had  become  a  Protestant 
evangelist  in  Bristol.3  John  McDowel,  whom 
Knox  eulogises  for  his  "singular  prudence"  as 
well  as  ''learning  and  godliness,"  had  been  ap- 
pointed chaplain  to  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  and 
was  the  first  in  the  diocese  to  assail  publicly  the 
doctrine  of  papal  supremacy.4  In  the  earlier  por- 
tion of  Edward  VI. 's  reign  three  other  Scots  were 
enrolled  in  a  list  of  eighty  accredited  preachers — 
John  Willock,  a  Dominican  from  Ayrshire,  after- 
wards one  of  Knox's  leading  colleagues  in  Scot- 
land 5 ;  John  McBriar  of  Galloway,  eventually 
Vicar  of  Newcastle  ;  and  John  Rough,  the  ex- 
chaplain,  and  future  martyr  under  "Bloody 
Mary."6  It  is  evident  that  at  a  time  when  the 
mass  of  the  English  clergy  were  either  lukewarm 
or  hostile,  the  Protestant  cause  benefited  sub- 
stantially by  Scottish  refugees. 

The    chief   service,    however,    which    England 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  54,  55,  531;    Lorimer,  Precursors  of 
Knox,  184.     See  p.  40. 

2  Knox,  i.,  55;   Spottisw.,  Hist.,  i.,  131;    Lorimer,  186. 

3  Knox,  i.,  105;  Lorimer,  189. 

4  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  55  ;   Lorimer,  187. 

s  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  245  and  note  2;   Lorimer,  190. 
6  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  i.,  529,  530,  538-9. 


94  John  Knox  [1549- 

received  at  this  period  from  Scotland  was  rendered 
by  Knox.  His  first  sphere  of  labour  was  Berwick,1 
which  had  been  finally  ceded  by  Scotland  about 
seventy  years  before.  This  town,  with  its  mixed 
population  partly  of  English,  partly  of  Scottish, 
extraction,  was  doubtless  regarded  as  an  ap- 
propriate pastoral  charge  for  a  patriotic  Scot  in 
England,  who  desired  to  keep  in  touch  with  his 
own  fellow-countrymen.  Knox  ministered  there2 
from  the  spring  of  1549  to  the  spring  of  1551, 
Berwick  lay  within  the  diocese  of  Durham,  of 
which  Tunstall3  was  the  Bishop.  He  was  one  of 
the  reactionary  prelates  who  acquiesced  in  the 
Reformation  of  Henry  VIII.,  but  had  no  sym- 
pathy with  Cranmer's  moderately  progressive  pol- 
icy, and  adhered  to  Roman  doctrine  and  ritual. 
The  licensed  preachers,  however,  held  their  com- 
missions directly  from  the  Privy  Council,  and  were 
virtually  independent  of  diocesan  jurisdiction. 

Knox's  parishioners  at  Berwick,  like  his  con- 
gregation at  St.  Andrews,  consisted  of  two  dis- 
tinct sections — garrison  4  and  citizens.     The  field 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  i.,  231;  vi.,  p.  xxvi. 

2  The  Church  has  been  transformed  through  repeated 
restoration ;  and  the  old  pulpit,  popularly  believed  to  be  that 
from  which  Knox  preached,  belongs  probably  to  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

3  Tunstall  was  imprisoned  and  deprived  in  1552  through 
Northumberland's  influence  for  alleged  treason;  was  re- 
stored under  Mary,  and  again  deprived  for  non-compliance 
under  Elizabeth  (Froude,  chaps,  xxviii.,  xxx.,  xxxvii.). 

4  The  normal  strength  of  the  garrison  in  time  of  peace  was 


- 


***; 


1; 


* 


A  ;. 


u 


1554] 


In  England  95 


was  not  favourable  for  spiritual  husbandry.  The 
northern  counties  of  England  were  less  affected  by 
the  Reformation  than  most  other  districts  of  the 
country ;  the  influence  of  the  Bishop  was  hostile ; 
and  the  moral  tone  of  both  soldiers  and  civilians 
was  bad.  Sanguinary  quarrels  were  common 
among  the  garrison;  disorder  and  robbery  pre- 
vailed among  the  townsmen.  In  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  Protector  Somerset,  in  November,  1548, 
it  is  declared  that  "there  is  better  order  among 
the  Tartars  than  in  this  town ;  and  that  a  stern 
disciplinarian  as  well  as  a  stirring  preacher  will  be 
required  to  work  out  a  moral  and  social  reform."  l 
Knox  was  well  fitted  by  character  to  fulfil  these 
requirements ;  and  his  brief  ministry  in  the  Castle 
of  St.  Andrews  had  prepared  him  for  his  work  in 
the  Border  town.  The  earnest  spirit  in  which  he 
laboured  may  be  discerned  from  a  letter  ad- 
dressed by  him  to  the  congregation  in  1552, 
after  his  departure.  He  declares  that  he  had 
"preached  Christ  among"  them  "in  much  weak- 
ness and  fear,"  yet  "with  rude  boldness  and  zeal 
towards  God's  glory  and"  their  "salvation."2 
Long  afterwards,   when  Queen  Mary  Stuart  re- 


600 ;  but  during  the  first  year  of  Knox's  ministry,  prior  to 
the  Treaty  of  Boulogne  (March,  1550),  the  number  of  soldiers 
required  for  defence  against  Scottish  invasion  by  land  and 
French  assault  by  sea  must  have  been  abnormally  large. 

1  Lorimer,  John  Knox  and  the  Ch.  of  E.,  18;  Knox,   H.  of 
R.,  ii.,  280. 

2  Lorimer,  263. 


96  John  Knox  [i549- 

peated  to  him  some  calumny  about  his  having 
been  ''the  cause  of  great  sedition  and  slaughter  in 
England,"  he  was  moved  to  testify  regarding  the 
visible  fruits  of  his  ministry : "  I  shame  not,  Madam, 
to  affirm  that  God  so  blessed  my  weak  labours  that 
in  Berwick,  where  commonly  before  there  used  to 
be  slaughter,  by  reason  of  quarrels  among  sol- 
diers, there  was  as  great  quietness,  all  the  time  I 
remained,  as  there  is  this  day  in  Edinburgh."  x 
The  repeated  promotion  and  offers  of  further 
promotion  which  Knox — no  place-hunter  or  time- 
server — received  in  Engand,  indicate  that  the 
efficiency  of  his  pastorate  at  this  period  was  fully 
recognised. 

The  preachers  appointed  by  the  Privy  Council, 
when  stationed  in  some  town,  were  expected 
to  propagate  Reformed  doctrine  also  in  the  sur- 
rounding district ;  and  in  such  work  Knox  appears 
not  to  have  spared  himself.  Evidence  will  be 
given  afterwards  2  of  his  aggressive  Protestantism 
in  the  diocese  of  Durham :  and  a  casual  letter  ap- 
pears to  indicate  his  evangelistic  diligence  even  in 
its  less  frequented  parishes.  In  May,  1551,  John 
ab  Ulmis,  then  in  England  as  a  refugee,  refers 
incidentally  in  correspondence  to  the  Island  of 
Lindisfarne  as  a  place  "not  far  from  the  town 
of  Berwick,"  where,  notwithstanding  its  isolated 
situation,    he    found    the    "inhabitants    rightly 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  280. 

2  See  page  103. 


i554]  In  England  97 

instructed  in  religion."  '  To  John  Knox,  directly 
or  indirectly,  we  may  ascribe,  with  the  highest 
probability,  such  instruction ;  and  it  is  interesting 
to  think  of  the  island  which,  in  the  seventh  cent- 
ury, under  the  Scottish  monk  Aidan,  became  a 
second  Iona,  receiving  now,  after  nine  hundred 
years,  from  a  Scottish  Reformer,  a  fresh  diffusion  of 
the  light  which  in  the  interval  had  become  obscured. 
Knox  was  instrumental  at  Berwick,  not  only  in 
propagating  Protestantism,  but  in  sowing  some  of 
the  earliest  seeds  of  English  Puritanism.  When 
he  arrived  in  the  town  the  First  Prayer-book  of 
Edward  VI.  had  already  been  sanctioned  and 
issued.  Apart  from  its  being  composed  in  Eng- 
lish, it  diverged  considerably  from  the  old  Roman 
service-book:  but  it  retained  kneeling  at  Com- 
munion, prayers  for  the  dead,  the  ceremony  of 
exorcism,  and  the  use  of  the  ancient  vestments. 
The  public  employment  of  this  liturgy  was  ordered 
to  commence  on  Whitsunday,  1549:  but  in  many 
dioceses  and  districts  the  strong  opposition  to  the 
book  by  Romanists  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  section 
of  Protestants  on  the  other,  prevented  its  wide- 
spread introduction.2  Among  the  leading  dissen- 
tients from  the  Act  of  Uniformity  which  imposed 
the  new  service-book  was  the  Bishop  of  Durham. 3 

1  Lorimer,  46.  By  "rightly  instructed  in  religion"  John 
ab  Ulmis  evidently  meant  instructed  in  religion  according  to 
Reformed  doctrine. 

2  Perry,  Ref.  in  Engl.,  pp.  72-76. 

3  Froude,  H.  of  E.,  iv.,  386. 

7 


98  John  Knox  [i549- 

For  once,  although  on  very  different  grounds, 
Knox  agreed  with  Tunstall.  The  Privy  Council 
do  not  appear  to  have  constrained  the  Scottish 
preacher  to  use  a  book  to  which  he  had  strong 
objections.  An  extant  fragment  of  the  "  Practice 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  used  in  Berwick-upon-Tweed 
by  John  Knox"  shows  that  he  introduced  into 
the  worship  there  forms  of  service  distinctly  Puri- 
tan in  character.  The  Communion  office  is  partly 
borrowed  from  Swiss  and  German  sources :  prob- 
ably it  was  based  on  materials  privately  used  and 
supplied  to  Knox  by  Wishart.1  Prominent  among 
the  features  of  Knox's  service  was  the  discontinu- 
ance of  kneeling  at  the  Holy  Communion.  He 
regarded  this  attitude  as  a  symbolical  endorse- 
ment of  transubstantiation  and  of  the  idolatry  of 
the  host.2  Objection  to  this  posture  became  one 
of  the  distinctive  "notes"  of  Puritanism  in  Brit- 
ain :  and  it  is  interesting  to  find  the  earliest  prac- 
tice, so  far  as  is  known,  of  sitting  at  Communion 
in  the  Berwick  service  3  conducted  by  a  Scottish 

1  Lorimer,  290-297;  A.  F.  Mitchell,  Scott.  Ref.,  77,  78. 

2  "Kneeling  in  that  action,  appearing  to  be  joined  with 
certain  dangers  in  maintaining  superstition,  I  thought  good 
amongst  you  to  avoid;  and  to  use  sitting  at  the  Lord's 
Table,  which  ye  did  not  refuse"  (Letter  of  Knox  to  the 
Congregation  of  Berwick,  Lorimer,  201). 

3  In  1550,  Bishop  Hooper  advocated  the  same  posture; 
but  a  letter  sent  from  England  in  1552  from  the  Reformer 
Utenhove  to  Bullinger  indicates  a  sermon  of  a  Scot  (pre- 
sumably Knox)  as  the  chief  occasion  of  the  movement  against 
kneeling  (Drysdale,  Presbyterians  in  England,  66). 


1554]  In  England  99 

Reformer.  This  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  acts 
and  testimonies  which  justify  Carlyle's  designa- 
tion of  Knox  as  the  "chief  priest  and  founder" 
of  English  Puritanism.1 

III.  The  Reformer's  ministry  at  Berwick  was 
a  memorable  period,  not  only  in  his  public  career, 
but  in  his  domestic  life.  Among  his  congre- 
gation was  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Bowes,  the  daughter 
of  Sir  Roger  Aske  of  Yorkshire.  Her  hus- 
band, Richard  Bowes,  was  Captain  of  Norham 
Castle,  a  few  miles  from  Berwick,  and  belonged 
to  a  Northumbrian  family  of  whom  one 
had  been  knighted  for  his  prowess  at  Flodden. 
Husband  and  wife,  as  often  happened  at  that 
time,  were  differently  affected  on  the  great  re- 
ligious question  of  the  day.  Richard  Bowes,  like 
most  of  the  northern  gentry,  was  a  keen  Roman- 
ist: Elizabeth  Bowes,  even  before  the  arrival  of 
Knox,  sympathised  with  the  Reformation.  Under 
his  ministry  this  sympathy  developed ;  it  issued 
eventually,  as  we  shall  find,  in  separation  from  a 
husband  with  whom  she  could  dwell  in  peace  only 
at  the  cost  of  fidelity  to  truth.2  Mrs.  Bowes  had 
ten  daughters,  and  at  some  date  prior  to  23rd 
June,  1553,  Knox  and  the  fifth  daughter,  Marjorie, 
had  "  pledged  themselves  to  one  another  before 
witnesses";  although,  in  consequence  of  her 
father's  opposition,   the  marriage  did  not  take 

1  Carlyle,  Heroes  and  Hero-Worship,  p.  133. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  253. 


ioo  John  Knox  [i549- 

place  till  1555  or  1556. T  No  record  remains  of  the 
early  period  of  Knox's  acquaintance  with  his  future 
wife.  The  marriage,  so  far  as  appears,  was  a  happy 
one:  but  from  incidental  references  one  receives 
the  impression  that  the  engagement  was  due  to 
the  arrangement  of  the  prospective  mother-in-law 
rather  than  to  any  ardent  mutual  affection,  at  first, 
on  the  part  of  the  young  lady  and  the  ex-priest, 
who  was  probably  her  senior  by  many  years.  Cer- 
tainly this  was  the  view  taken  by  friends,  as  Knox 
himself  candidly  declares.2  It  cannot  be  said  that 
even  according  to  the  prosaic  standard  of  modern 
courtship  Knox  was  a  model  lover.  The  defect- 
iveness of  his  ardour  may  be  inferred  from  a 
curious  and  suggestive  expression  in  his  earliest 
extant  epistle  to  his  betrothed:  "I  think  [!]  this 
be  the  first  letter  ever  I  wrait  to  you ' ' ;  and  the 
writing,  is  entirely  occupied  with  warnings  against 
"false  teachers"  and  references  to  her  mother's 
conflicts  with  "the  accusatour  of  God's  elect"!3 
It  must  be  remembered,  however,  in  extenuation, 
that  when  Knox  wrote  this  letter  he  was  forty  or 


1  Knox's  first  extant  letter  to  Mrs.  Bowes  as  his  future 
mother-in-law  is  dated  23rd  June,  1553;  but  the  betrothal 
may  have  been  considerably  earlier  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii., 
343).  His  first  letter  to  Marjorie  Bowes  is  undated  (ibid., 
395).     As  to  the  time  of  the  marriage,  see  p.  134. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  37.  "It  is  supposed  that  all  the 
matter  [of  the  betrothal]  comes  by  you  and  me."  So  Knox 
writes  to  Mrs.  Bowes;  and  he  is  at  no  pains  to  deny  the 
truth  of  the  "supposition." 

3  Ibid.,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  395. 


1554] 


In  England  101 


more ;  and  that  he  had  been  accustomed  to  fulfil 
the  office  of  pastor  to  Mar jorie  Bowes  for  some  time 
before  he  entered  into  the  relationship  of  lover.  In 
his  correspondence  with  her,  amid  much  spiritual 
counsel  there  gleams  from  time  to  time  a  sober  af- 
fectionateness.  Thus,  in  one  letter  he  writes  to  his 
"  most  dear  sister,"  "  Be  sure  I  will  not  forget  you 
and  your  company," — adding,  however,  as  if  he 
had  gone  too  far,  "so  long  as  mortal  man  may 
remember  any  earthly  creature."  '  In  another 
letter,  addressed  to  his  mother-in-law,  he  declares 
that  "there  is  none  with  whom  I  would  more 
gladly  speak,"  i.  e.,  than  with  Mrs.  Bowes;  but 
he  at  once  corrects  himself  with  the  addition, 
"  only  she  excepted  whom  God  hath  offered  to  me, 
and  commanded  me  to  love  as  my  own  flesh."  2 
Lovers  do  not  usually  base  their  affection  on  offers 
and  commands ! 

Knox's  correspondence  discloses  his  mother-in- 
law  as  a  kind-hearted  and  devout  woman,  whose 
converse  was  a  source  of  comfort  and  edification 
to  her  future  son-in-law ;  yet  at  the  same  time  as 
a  spiritual  valetudinarian,  morbidly  introspective, 
constantly  complaining  about  her  religious  con- 
dition, and  living  in  habitual  dread  of  reprobation. 
On  the  one  hand,  he  bears  grateful  witness  to  the 
"motherly  kindness  ye  have  shewn  unto  me  at 
all  times   since  our  first   acquaintance"3;    and 

1  Laing,  IF.  of  K.,  iii.,  358. 

2  Ibid.,  iii.,  370. 

3  Ibid.,  iii.,  378- 


102  John  Knox  [iS49- 

when  he  was  in  straits,  after  Mary  Tudor's  acces- 
sion, she  offered  him  pecuniary  aid,  which  he  had 
the  self-respect  to  decline.1  He  testifies,  also,  to 
her  helpfulness  in  higher  ways.  He  declares  that 
from  "  the  first  day  that  it  pleased  the  Providence 
of  God  to  bring  you  and  me  in  familiarity,  I  have 
always  delighted  in  your  company,  .  .  .  for  I 
find  a  congruence  betwixt  us  in  spirit."  2  In  one 
pathetic  passage  he  relates  that  the  unfolding  by 
her  of  her  own  spiritual  troubles  and  infirmities 
was  "a  very  mirror"  wherein  he  beheld  himself 
"so  rightly  painted  that  nothing  could  be  more 
evident":  and  he  recalls  how  "often  when  with 
dolourous  hearts  we  have  begun  our  talking, 
God  has  sent  great  comfort  to  us  both."  3  On  the 
other  hand,  he  naively  admits  that  "her  com- 
pany," although  "comfortable,  yea  honourable, 
and  profitable,"  was  "not  without  some  cross"; 
for  his  "mind  was  seldom  quiet  for  doing  some- 
what for  the  comfort  of  her  troubled  conscience."  4 
The  Reformer's  careful  and  patient  treatment  of 
her  doubts  and  "desperation,"  as  revealed  in  his 
long  letters,  indicates  an  amiable  feature  of  his 
character;  but  one  can  readily  understand  the 
depressing  influence  of  even  a  "dearly  beloved 
mother"  who  was  in  constant  dread  of  "apos- 
tasy";  in  continual  "battle  with  Satan";    com- 


i  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  372. 

2  Ibid.,  iii.,  3 37 '-3 39. 

3  Ibid.,  iii.,  338. 

4  Ibid.,  vi.,  514. 


1554] 


In  England  103 


paring  herself  with  the  people  of  Sodom,  and 
groaning  with  more  force  than  taste  over  her 
spiritual  "adultery."  x 

IV.  During  the  ministry  of  Knox  at  Berwick 
he  paid  at  least  one  memorable  visit  to  Newcastle. 
This  visit  exerted  considerable  influence  on  his 
career,  occasioned  his  earliest  conspicuous  effort 
in  literary  controversy,  and  placed  him  in  the 
front  rank  of  the  more  thorough  English  Re- 
formers. It  was  natural  that  a  reactionary  pre- 
late like  Tunstall  should  regard  with  disfavour 
Knox's  aggressive  Protestantism.  As  the  latter, 
however,  held  a  commission  direct  from  the  Privy 
Council,  the  Bishop,  in  his  episcopal  capacity,  had 


1  Laing,  W.of  K., in.,  361,  364,  372,  382,  385.  The  relations 
subsisting  between  Knox  and  Mrs.  Bowes  occasioned,  prior 
to  his  marriage  at  least,  some  unfounded  scandal  which  in  its 
turn  formed  the  basis  of  vile  insinuations  by  the  renegade 
Archibald  Hamilton  (De  Con].  Calv.  Sect.,  p.  65).  The  scandal 
was  magnified  through  the  dislike  of  some  of  the  Bowes 
family  towards  Knox,  on  account  of  his  Protestant  views 
and  influence  over  his  future  mother-in-law.  "The  slander 
and  fear  of  men,"  so  he  writes,  ''hath  impeded  me  to  exercise 
my  pen  so  often  as  I  would;  yea  very  shame  hath  hoi  den  me 
from  your  company  when  I  was  most  surely  persuaded  that 
God  had  appointed  me  to  feed  your  hungry  and  afflicted 
soul"  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  390-391).  A  few  months  before 
his  own  death,  after  Mrs.  Bowes  had  passed  away,  he  felt  im- 
pelled to  "declare  to  the  world  what  was  the  cause  of  our 
great  familiarity";  which  was  "neither  flesh  nor  blood,  but 
a  troubled  conscience  on  her  part  which  never  suffered  her  to 
rest  but  when  she  was  in  the  company  of  the  faithful,  of 
whom  (from  the  first  hearing  of  the  Word  at  my  mouth)  she 
judged  me  to  be  one"  (Laing,  vi.,  513). 


104  John  Knox  [i549- 

no  power  to  interfere;  and  probably  he  would 
have  been  content  to  remain  quiescent  but  for 
the  complaints  of  a  section  of  his  clergy  that 
Knox  was  denouncing  the  mass  as  idolatry. 
These  complaints  led  Tunstall  to  summon  Knox, 
in  April,  1550,  before  the  Council  of  the  North, 
of  which  the  Bishop  was  a  leading  member.  This 
Council  was  composed  of  twenty-three  representa- 
tive clergy,  nobility,  and  gentry;  and  one  of  its 
functions  was  to  secure  conformity  to  the  parlia- 
mentary enactments  about  religion.1 

Knox,  however,  was  not  cited  as  an  ecclesiasti- 
cal offender,  but  to  "give  his  confession  why  he 
affirmed  the  mass  to  be  idolatry,"  and  a  large 
congregation  assembled  in  the  Church  of  St. 
Nicholas  at  Newcastle  to  hear  his  address.  The 
Bishop  had  furnished  the  preacher  with  an 
opportunity  of  effectively  propagating  his  views 
on  a  burning  question  of  the  time.2  In  the  First 
Prayer-book  of  Edward  VI.,  the  elevation  and 
adoration  of  the  host  were  significantly  discon- 
tinued. Accordingly,  when  Knox  declared  that 
the  mass,  as  celebrated  by  Romanists,  was  idola- 

1  Burnet,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  36,  310;  Strype,  Memorials,  ii., 
Part  II.,  161.  The  headquarters  of  the  Council  were  at 
York,  but  annual  sessions  were  held  at  Hull,  Durham,  and 
Newcastle ;  and  it  was  presumably  to  the  regular  session  at 
Newcastle  that  Knox  was  cited.  The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury 
was  President  of  the  Council,  and  Sir  Robert  Bowes  was  a 
member  of  it 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  33-70  (where  the  discourse  is  given 
in  full);   Lorimer,  Knox  and  the  Ch.  of  E.,  pp.  51-65. 


*i^9»  - 

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iss4]  In  England  105 

trous,  he  was  in  harmony  with  a  parliamentary 
statute,  and  his  declaration  could  not  be  made 
the  ground  of  a  charge  against  him.  It  is  signifi- 
cant, however,  that  in  his  discussion  of  the  ques- 
tion he  goes  far  beyond  the  standpoint  of  the 
Prayer-book.  He  uses  the  term  "idolatry"  in  a 
wide  sense,  embracing  not  a  little  which  Cran- 
mer  and  his  colleagues  would  have  declined  to 
condemn.  The  latter  were  content  to  omit  from 
the  Communion  office  whatever  involved  or  sug- 
gested transubstantiation.  With  this  part  of  the 
subject  Knox  deals  effectively  in  the  latter  por- 
tion of  his  discourse,  and  shews  the  unscriptural 
character  of  the  doctrine  of  the  mass,  as  an 
alleged  "  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  quick  and  the 
dead."  1  But  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  address 
he  adopts  by  anticipation  the  Puritan  position 
that  "all  worshipping,  honouring,  or  service  in- 
vented by  the  brain  of  man  in  the  religion  of 
God,  without  His  own  express  commandment,  is 
idolatry."  2  On  the  basis  of  this  contention  he 
includes  under  "idolatry  of  the  mass"  all  the 
non-scriptural  ceremonial  with  which  the  Com- 
munion had  been  associated,  and  thus  con- 
demns not  only  what  the  Prayer-book  proscribed 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii. ,  65. 

2  Ibid.,  iii.,  34.  This  is  the  position  taken  up  by  the  West- 
minster Confession  (XXL,  1.)  and  by  the  Shorter  Catechism 
(Qu.  51).  The  unlawfulness  of  unprescribe  modes  of  wor- 
ship had  already  been  affirmed  by  Knox  at  St.  Andrews 
(see  p  79). 


106  John  Knox  [i549- 

but  also  not  a  little  which  it  approved.  He 
denounces  the  introduction  and  consecration  of 
altars,  the  use  of  candles  and  certain  vestments, 
the  unauthorised  addition  of  certain  words  to  the 
scriptural  formula  of  institution,  and  various 
"  ungodly  invocations  and  diabolical  conjura- 
tions." x     At  the  close  of  the  discourse,  he  calls 

"God  to  record  that  neither  profit  to  myself, 
hatred  of  any  person  or  persons,  nor  affection  or 
favour  that  I  bear  towards  any  private  man,  causeth 
me  to  speak  as  ye  have  heard,  but  only  the  obedience 
that  I  owe  unto  God  in  ministration,  and  the  com- 
mon love  which  I  bear  to  the  salvation  of  all  men. "  2 

The  discourse  of  Knox,  so  far  from  occasioning 
any  interference  with  his  liberty,  brought  him 
prominently  before  Court,  Church,  and  people 
as  a  powerful  champion  of  Reformed  doctrine. 
Early  in  1551,  he  was  removed,  by  order,  doubt- 
less, of  the  Privy  Council,  from  Berwick  to 
Newcastle.  In  this  more  influential  sphere  he 
continued,  along  with  the  preaching  of  Protestant 
truth,  to  celebrate  worship  in  conformity,  not 
with  the  authorised  Prayer-book,  but  with  his  own 
Puritan  ideas.  In  addition  to  the  propagation 
of  evangelical  doctrine  among  the  citizens  of 
Newcastle  and  the  population  of  the  North  gen- 


1  Laing,  iii.,  49.     The  reference  is  to  the  pleading  of  the 
merits  of  saints  and  to  exorcism. 

2  Ibid.,  iii.,  69. 


i554]  In  England  107 

erally,  he  attracted  to  the  town  numerous  Scots 
''chiefly  for  his  fellowship."  l 

V.  The  ecclesiastical  standing  and  distinction 
of  John  Knox  in  England  at  this  period  are 
illustrated  by  two  offers  of  promotion,  one  of 
which  was  accepted,  the  other  declined,  and  also 
by  two  instances  of  his  influential  intervention  in 
Church  affairs.  At  some  date  between  December, 
1 55 1,  and  October,  1552,  he  was  appointed  one 
of  six  royal  chaplains.2  Two  of  these  chaplains 
at  a  time  resided  at  Court ;  the  other  four  itinerated 
in  various  districts  of  the  country.  Through  this 
office  Knox's  influence  was  largely  increased.  He 
had  as  frequent  listeners  to  his  preaching  not  only 
the  King  himself,  but  ministers  of  the  Crown  and 
officials  of  the  Court,  while  he  had  also  the  oppor- 
tunity of  delivering  his  testimony  at  important 
centres  in  different  parts  of  the  country.3 

Before  the  close  of  1552,  a  yet  more  important 
charge  was  within  the  Reformer's  reach.  The 
Duke  of  Northumberland,  who,  after  Somerset's 
fall,  became  the  most  powerful  statesman  in  the 
kingdom,  occupied  the  post  of  Warden  of  the 
Borders.      In   that    capacity    he    was    often  in 

1  See  Lorimer  (p.  78),  who  quotes  a  letter  from  the  Duke 
of  Northumberland  to  Cecil,  Sept.,  1552. 

2  Lorimer,  79-80.  Knox  was  not  one  of  the  original  six, 
appointed  in  Dec.,  1-551;  but  on  27th  Oct.,  1552,  there  is  an 
entry  in  the  Register  of  the  Privy  Council  authorising  the 
payment  to  him  of  £40  "  in  way  of  the  King's  Majesty's 
reward. " 

3  Lain g,  vi.,  p.  xxix.;    Lorimer,  48. 


108  John  Knox  [1549- 

contact  with  Knox,  whose  headquarters,  after  he 
became  chaplain,  continued  to  be  in  the  North, 
and  the  Duke  repeatedly  heard  the  Reformer 
preach.  Partly  to  strengthen  the  Protestant 
cause  in  the  south,  and  partly  to  rid  the  Borders 
of  a  preacher  whose  independent  spirit  and 
Puritan  attitude  he  did  not  like,  Northumberland 
recommended  him  for  the  vacant  See  of  Rochester.1 
Knox  appears  to  have  had  no  objection  to  epis- 
copacy as  such,  but  he  disapproved  of  "your 
proud  prelates'  great  dominions  and  charge,  im- 
possible by  one  man  to  be  discharged."  2  He 
gives  a  further  reason — "foresight  of  trouble  to 
come."  3  He  had  also,  one  may  assume,  no 
desire  to  come  under  obligations  to  a  statesman 
whose  unprincipled  character,  afterwards  dis- 
closed, he  seems  already  to  have  discerned;   and, 

1  In  a  letter  from  Northumberland  to  Cecil  (State  Pap. 
Edw.  VI.,  xv.  35 ;  Tytler,  Reigns  of  Edward  VI.  and  Mary,  ii., 
142),  of  date  28th  Oct.,  1552,  the  former  writes:  "he  [Knox] 
would  not  only  be  a  whetstone  to  quicken  and  sharp  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  whereof  he  hath  need,  but  also  he 
would  be  a  great  confounder  of  the  Anabaptists  lately  sprung 
up  in  Kent."  He  adds,  as  a  further  reason  for  the  Re- 
former's promotion,  that  Knox  "should  not  continue  the 
ministration  in  the  North  contrary  to  this  set  forth  here 
[i.  e.,  the  prescribed  liturgy];  "and  that  the  Scots  now  in- 
habiting Newcastle  chiefly  for  his  friendship  would  not  con- 
tinue there." 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  v.,  518;  comp.  iii.,  26,  where  Knox  de- 
clares that  no  bishop  should  mix  himself  with  temporal  or 
secular  business,  but  should  continually  preach,  read,  and 
exhort  his  flock. 

3 Ibid.,  iii.,  122;  comp.  iv.,  221. 


I5S4]  In  England  109 

moreover,  as  a  patriotic  Scot,  he  would  be  un- 
willing to  undertake  responsibilities  which  might 
have  permanently  severed  his  connection  with 
his  native  land.  Accordingly,  after  a  personal 
interview  with  the  Reformer  Northumberland 
later  reports  that  he  had  found  Knox  "neither 
grateful  nor  pleasable,"  adding,  "I  mind  to  have 
no  more  to  do  with  him,  but  to  wish  him  well."  T 
The  offer  of  the  See  of  Rochester  was  thus  de- 
clined. Nearly  twenty  years  afterwards,  when 
Knox  was  requested  to  take  part  in  the  installa- 
tion of  John  Douglas  as  Bishop  of  St.  Andrews, 
and  when  his  refusal  to  do  so  was  ascribed  to 
personal  disappointment,  he  was  moved  to  recall 
this  long-past  incident  in  his  career,  and  to  de- 
clare that  he  had  refused  a  greater  bishopric  than 
ever  it  [St.  Andrews]  was."  2 

The  Second  Prayer-book  of  Edward  VI.,  sanc- 
tioned in  April,  1552,  and  the  Forty-two  Articles 
promulgated  in  the  following  year,  bear  each 
some  mark  of  Knox's  influence.  The  practice  of 
sitting  instead  of  kneeling  at  Communion  had 
become  frequent  by  1552,  among  those  who 
favoured  it  being  Hooper,  Bishop  of  Gloucester. 
The  Puritan  party  were  not  strong  enough  to  pro- 


1  Letter  of  7th  Dec.,  1552,  from  Northumberland  to  Cecil, 
(State  Pap.  Edw.  VI.,  xv.,  66)  quoted  by  Tytler,  Reigns  of 
Edward  VI.  and  Mary,  ii.,  148.  The  Duke,  however,  did  not 
cease  to  regard  Knox  as  a  man  worthy  of  consideration  (see 
Tytler,  ii.,  158,  159). 

2  Richard  Bannatyne's  Memorials,  p.  256  (Bann.  Clubed.). 


no  John  Knox  [i549- 

cure  the  introduction  of  any  change  of  posture 
into  the  new  service-book,  but  an  important  con- 
cession was  secured  which  so  far  met  their  views. 
There  was  inserted  what  High  Churchmen  have 
called  the  "  Black  Rubric,"  deleted  after  the  ac- 
cession of  Elizabeth  to  propitiate  Catholics,  re- 
placed at  the  Restoration  to  conciliate  Puritans, 
and  still  retained.  This  rubric  significantly  de- 
clares that  by  kneeling  ''no  adoration  is  intended 
either  of  the  sacramental  bread  and  wine,"  or 
"of  Christ's  natural  flesh  and  blood."  The  inser- 
tion of  the  caveat  was  assigned  in  1554  by 
Dr.  Weston  (afterwards  Dean  of  Westminster)  to 
the  authority  of  a  "  run-a-gate  Scot."  J  That  this 
Scot  was  Knox  appears  from  the  fact  that  about 
this  time  he  preached  before  the  King  a  sermon 
against  kneeling,  and  that  a  memorial  to  the  Privy 
Council,  dated  1552,  in  favour  of  sitting  at  Com- 
munion was  substantially  Knox's  work.2  His  in- 
fluence appears  in  another  kindred  matter.  In 
October,  1552,  the  Forty-five  Articles  (afterwards 
reduced  to  Forty-two,  ultimately  to  Thirty-nine) 
were  submitted  for  consideration   to  the    royal 


1  Foxe,  Acts,  etc.,  vi.,  510;    Laing,  iii.,  80. 

2  Lorimer,  pp.  99-107,  267-284;  Gairdner,  Eng.  Ch.  in  Six- 
teenth Cent.,  p.  307  ;  Drysdale,  Presbyterians  in  England,  p.  68. 
Having  secured  the  insertion  of  the  rubric,  Knox  soon  after 
advised  his  former  congregation  at  Berwick  to  adopt  the 
kneeling  posture  for  the  sake  of  peace  (Lorimer,  259-263): 
but  he  appears  never  himself  to  have  conformed.  (See 
below.) 


I5S4]  In  England  m 

chaplains.  Knox  could  not  but  object  to  Article 
Thirty-eight,  which,  in  the  original  draft,  endorsed 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Prayer-book,  as  "in  no  way 
repugnant  to  the  wholesome  liberty  of  the  Gos- 
pel." In  the  final  form  this  clause  is  significantly 
altered;  all  reference  to  ceremonies  has  disap- 
peared.1 These  are  probably  only  specimens,  ac- 
cidentally disclosed,  of  the  ecclesiastical  influence 
exerted  by  the  Scottish  chaplain.  They  corrobo- 
rate the  testimony  of  a  friendly  Flemish  resident 
in  England  2  that  Knox  "  wrought  upon  the  minds 
of  many,"  and  they  account  for  the  complaint  of 
the  hostile  Weston  that  "  this  one  man's  authority 
so  much  prevailed."  3 

The  standing  and  influence  of  Knox  are  further 
illustrated  by  the  vain  efforts  made  to  get  rid 
of  him,  and  by  the  toleration  which  he  received, 
notwithstanding  his  nonconformity,  from  the 
Privy  Council.  The  earliest  attempt  to  dis- 
place him  was  made  by  the  Mayor  of  Newcastle, 
Sir  Robert  Brandling,  after  a  sermon  by  Knox  on 
Christmas  Day,  1552.  The  Reformer  had  dis- 
coursed on  the  "obstinacy  of  the  Papists"  who 
were  "thirsting  for  the  King's  death";  and  had 
afhrmed  that  whoever  opposed  the  Reformed  doc- 
trine was  not  only  an  "enemy  to  God,"  but  a 
"secret    traitor    to  the    Crown    and    Common- 


1  Lorimer,  pp.  108-110,  126-129;   Gairdner,  p.  308. 

2  John  Utenhove  in  letter  to  Bullinger,  dated  Oct.,   1552 
(quoted  by  Lorimer,  p.  98). 

3  Foxe,  vi.,  510;    Lorimer,  p.  134. 


ii2  John  Knox  [i549- 

wealth."  '  The  proceedings  against  Knox  failed, 
largely  through  the  intervention  of  Northumber- 
land, who,  in  spite  of  the  Reformer's  refusal 
of  a  bishopric,  held  over  him  the  aegis  of  his  in- 
fluence and  condemned  the  Mayor's  "malicious 
stomach."  2  Two  or  three  months  later,  "  heinous 
delations,"  laid  against  the  Reformer  before  the 
Privy  Council,  equally  failed  to  undermine  his 
credit,  and  issued,  as  he  himself  expresses  it,  in 
"Satan's  confusion"  and  the  "glory  of  God."3 
Once  more,  in  April  1 5  53,  he  was  summoned  before 
the  Council  to  explain  his  refusal  of  a  presenta- 
tion to  the  vicarage  of  Allhallows  in  London. 
He  replied  that  while  he  was  ready  to  fill  an 
office  like  that  of  royal  chaplain,  which  gave 
him  the  opportunity  of  preaching  Christ's  Gos- 
pel, he  considered  that  no  beneficed  minister 
could  discharge  his  office  before  God  in  England 
without  fuller  power  of  discipline — authority 
to  "divide  the  lepers  from  the  whole."  There 
was  another  reason,  however,  for  his  citation.  He 
was  asked  to  explain  "why  he  kneeled  not  at 
the  Lord's  Supper";  and  when  he  pleaded  the 
example  of  Christ  at  the  original  institution, 
he  was  dismissed  with  "gentle  speeches"  and  a 
recommendation  to  reconsider  the  question,  but 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  297. 

2  Tytler,  Reigns  of  Edward  VI.  and  Mary,  ii.,  158. 

3  Laing,  W.  of  K,  iii.,  364  (letter  to  Mrs.  Bowes,  23rd  March, 
1553). 


554] 


In  England  113 


without  any  threat  of  deprival.1  Obviously,  not- 
withstanding his  Puritanical  nonconformity  in 
some  details,  Knox  was  regarded  as  a  valuable 
champion  of  the  English  Reformation. 

VI.  Before  Easter,  1553,  Edward's  approach- 
ing death  had  been  anticipated,  and  Northumber- 
land's plot  to  disinherit  Mary  Tudor  had  already 
been  devised.  The  Reformer  and  his  fellow- 
chaplains  appear  to  have  discerned  at  an  early 
stage  the  Duke's  unprincipled  policy,  and  were 
not  afraid  to  allude  from  the  pulpit  to  iniquity  in 
high  places.2  It  was  the  turn  of  Knox  to  officiate 
in  April,  1553;  and  in  the  last  sermon  which  he 
preached  before  Edward  and  his  Council,  he  boldly 
referred  to  the  "young  and  innocent  king  being 
deceived  by  crafty,  covetous,  wicked,  and  ungodly 
counsellors,  whom  he  compared  to  Ahithophel, 
Shebna,  and  Judas.3 

Edward's  death  in  July  was  to  Knox,  as  to  other 
Protestants  in  England,  a  grievous  calamity, 
which  he  interpreted  as  a  divine  judgment.  "  We 
had  a  king,"  he  writes,  "of  so  godly  disposition 
towards  virtue  and  the  truth  of  God  that  none 
from  the  beginning  passed  him" ;  and  he  accuses 
"no  less  his  own  offences  than  the  offences  of 
others,"  as  the  "cause  of  the  away-taking  of  that 
most  godly  prince."  4     No  fear,  however,  of  what 

1  Calderwood,  Kirk  of  Scot.,  i.,  280,  281. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii. ,  176,  177. 

slbid.,  W.ofK.,  iii.,   282;   Lorimer,  169-172. 
4  Laing.  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  175. 


ii4  John  Knox  [i549- 

might  happen  under  Mary  Tudor  tempted  Knox 
to  give  any  countenance  to  the  usurpation  which 
was  forced  on  the  unfortunate  Lady  Jane  Grey; 
and  he  was  careful  not  to  omit  public  prayer  that 
God  would  "illuminate  the  heart  of  our  Sovereign 
Lady,  Queen  Mary."  "  Inflame  the  hearts  of  her 
Council,"  he  added,  "with  Thy  true  fear  and 
love,"  and  "repress  the  pride  of  those  that  would 
rebel."  l  Yet  he  was  not  blind  to  impending 
peril.  Amid  the  "joy  and  riotous  banqueting  at 
the  proclamation  of  Mary  "  he  foresaw  "  troubles  " 
and  "destructions"  all  the  more  certain  to  follow 
on  account  of  the  conspiracy  which  had  proved 
futile.2  He  was  in  no  hurry,  however,  to  leave 
his  post.  On  the  2  6th  of  July,  a  week  after  Mary's 
accession,  we  find  him  preaching  at  Carlisle;  in 
August  he  speaks  of  himself  as  labouring  in  Kent ; 
in  September  he  asks  the  prayers  of  Mrs.  Bowes 
for  his  ministry  in  London. 3  In  November  a  re- 
actionary Parliament  enacted  that  from  the  20th 
December  there  "  should  be  no  other  form  of  ser- 
vice but  what  had  been  used  in  the  last  year  of 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  107. 

2  Ibid.,  168. 

3  Ibid.,  365,  374,  376.  On  16th  Aug.,  a  proclamation  of 
the  Queen  forbade  Protestants  and  Catholics  to  interrupt 
each  other's  services,  but  prohibited  all  preaching  on  either 
side  without  a  royal  license  (Froude,  H.  of  E.,  v.,  236).  Knox, 
however,  probably  regarded  his  chaplaincy  as  a  virtual 
license,  until  it  became  clear  that  his  appointment  was  not 
to  be  renewed  under  Mary. 


is54]  In  England  115 

Henry  VIII."  ■  Before  that  date  the  mass  had 
been  restored;  and  the  majority  of  Reforming 
leaders  were  in  prison  or  in  exile.  Yet  Knox  re- 
mained and  continued  to  preach  after  the  interval 
of  toleration  had  expired.  On  the  22nd  of  Decem- 
ber he  writes  that  "  every  day  of  this  week  I  must 
preach,  if  this  wicked  carcase  will  permit  "  2 
With  the  death  of  Edward,  however,  his  royal 
chaplaincy,  as  well  as  his  commission  as  a  preacher, 
came  to  an  end;  and  neither  appointment  was 
renewed.  His  special  responsibility  as  regards 
England  accordingly  ceased;  and  when  the  in- 
tercepting of  his  letters  convinced  him  that  his 
apprehension  impended,  he  yielded,  although  re- 
luctantly, to  the  counsel  of  friends  and  escaped 
to  Dieppe  early  in  i554~3 

That  Knox  left  England  with  some  misgiving 
appears  from  his  anxiety  to  vindicate  himself  by 
anticipation  from  the  charge  of  faint-heartedness. 
"Some,"  he  writes,  "will  ask,  Why  did  I  flee? 
Assuredly  I  cannot  tell;  but  of  one  thing  I  am 
sure ;  the  fear  of  death  was  not  the  chief  cause. 
.     .     .     By  God's  grace  I  may  come  to  battle 


1  Lorimer,  p.  186;    Perry,  Ref.  in  Eng.,  p.  116. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  113. 

3  There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  date  of  Knox's  departure 
from  England.  On  the  authority  of  a  P.  S.  to  his  "Exposi- 
tion of  Ps.  VI.,  "Upon  the  very  point  of  my  journey,  the  last 
of  February"  (Laing,  iii.,  156),  Professor  Hume  Brown  dates 
the  Reformer's  flight  on  that  day.  But  Knox  probably  refers 
here  to  his  departure  from  Dieppe. 


n6  John  Knox  [IS49- 

before  all  the  conflict  be  ended."  1  We  catch 
from  his  correspondence  some  incidental  glimpses 
of  the  circumstances  and  motives  under  which  he 
acted.  He  mentions  on  the  6th  January  his 
"very  weak  health,"  and  he  may  not  have  been 
in  a  physical  condition  to  face  a  conflict.2  He 
seems,  also,  to  have  felt  the  responsibility  of 
remaining  when  this  could  not  be  done  "  without 
danger  to  others,"  referring  probably  to  some  of 
his  future  wife's  kindred  and  to  some  intimate 
friends  in  London. 3  But  what  weighed  doubtless 
above  all  with  Knox  was  his  consciousness  that 
he  was  a  man  with  a  mission,  endowed  with 
gifts  which  would  enable  him  to  take,  in  the 
future,  an  effective  part  in  the  Reformation 
of  the  Church.  With  this  expectation  deeply 
rooted  in  his  soul,  and  with  a  Scotsman's  prac- 
tical instinct  moving  him  to  reserve  his  life 
until  he  could  surrender  it  for  the  manifest  good 
of  the  Church  of  Christ,  Knox  was  not  inclined 
to  throw  himself  and  his  power  away  on  a  hope- 
less contest  in  a  country  not  his  own.  Cyprian 
and  Athanasius,  in  early  Christian  times,  had  fled 
for  a  while  from  the  dioceses  to  whose  ministry 
they  had  been  solemnly  consecrated,  in  order  to 
preserve  themselves  for  later  conflicts.  Knox, 
with  no  official  responsibility  to  discharge,  escaped 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  120. 

3  Ibid.,  120. 

3  Ibid.,  iii.,  236;  iv.,  219-222. 


1554]  In  England  117 

from  what  was,  after  all,  a  foreign  land,  in  order 
not  to  forfeit  the  opportunity  of  afterwards  aiding 
his  fellow-countrymen. 

"My  prayer  is,"  he  writes,  "that  I  may  be  restored 
to  the  battle";  and  "my  hope  is  that  I  shall  be  so 
encouraged  to  fight  that  England  and  Scotland  shall 
both  know  that  I  am  ready  to  suffer  more  than  either 
poverty  or  exile  for  that  doctrine  whereof  it  has 
pleased  His  merciful  Providence  to  make  me  a 
witness-bearer."  " 


1  Laing,  iii.,  154. 


CHAPTER  V 

KNOX  ON  THE   CONTINENT  OF  EUROPE — A  LEADER 

AND    PASTOR    OF    BRITISH    PROTESTANT 

EXILES — LITERARY    ACTIVITY 

1554-1559 

THE  four  years  and  some  months  which  Knox 
spent  on  the  Continent  were  far  from  being 
merely  an  interval  of  exile  and  of  comparative 
inactivity.  They  constitute  in  three  respects  a 
memorable  part  of  the  Reformer's  active  life. 
During  this  period  he  contributed  at  least  one 
notable  service  to  Continental  Protestantism ;  his 
personal  ministry  among  refugees,  and  his  letters 
as  well  as  other  writings,  exerted  a  considerable 
influence  over  the  English,  a  powerful  influence 
over  the  Scottish,  Reformation;  and  he  received 
impressions  which  were  afterwards  communicated 
by  him  to  the  Reformed  Church  of  Scotland,  and 
helped  to  mould  its  character  and  polity. 

I.  "Out  of  sight"  with  Knox  was  not  "out  of 
mind."  On  his  arrival  at  Dieppe  his  chief  anxiety 
appears  to  have  been  to  minister  in  absence  to 
those  who  had  been  deprived  of  his  presence.     An 

us 


[1554-1559]        On  the  Continent  119 

Exposition  of  Psalm  VI. ,  begun  before  his  depart- 
ure from  England,  was  now  completed  and  de- 
spatched to  Mrs.  Bowes,  for  whose  melancholic 
temperament  and  trying  circumstances  Psalm  and 
commentary  were  deemed  to  be  specially  appro- 
priate.1 This  work  was  his  fulfilment  of  domestic 
duty.  "A  Godly  Letter  to  the  faithful  Christ- 
ians in  London,  Newcastle,  Berwick,  and  to  all 
others  within  the  realm  of  England  that  love  the 
coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ' '  was  simultane- 
ously prepared  for  publication.2  "From  a  sore 
troubled  heart ' '  he  recalls  past  religious  privileges 
and  national  un worthiness,  providential  warn- 
ings and  national  disregard  of  them;  and  he 
exhorts  the  faithful  to  avoid  the  contamination  of 
prevalent  "idolatry."  That  was  the  Reformer's 
fulfilment  of  pastoral  responsibility  towards  his 
former  congregations  in  England.  Scotland  was 
not  forgotten,  although  no  record  of  any  Scottish 
correspondence  at  this  period  remains.  Part  of 
Knox's  time  at  Dieppe  was  occupied  with  the 
preparation  of  four  questions  "concerning  the 
Kingdoms  of  Scotland  and  England"  for  submis- 
sion to  the  Swiss  divines ;  and  three  of  those  ques- 
tions related  to  his  native   land.3 

II.  We  may  assume  that  on  his  arrival  at 
Dieppe,  Knox  would  not  fail  to  communicate  with 
the  Scottish  colony  who  resided  in  the  long  street, 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  in.,  1 13-156. 

2  Ibid.,  159-215. 

3  Ibid.,  219—226;  see  below,  p.  121. 


120  John  Knox  [ISS4_ 

still  called  Rue  d'Ecosse,  close  to  the  harbour  of 
that  town ;  and  he  may  have  lodged  there  with 
some  former  Scottish  acquaintance,  or  friend  of  an 
acquaintance.  The  relations,  commercial  as  well 
as  political,  between  Scotland  and  France  were 
close,  and  he  doubtless  received — probably  from 
a  fellow-countryman — news  about  his  native  land, 
of  later  date  than  any  which  he  was  likely  to  have 
heard  in  London.  Knox's  stay  at  Dieppe,  how- 
ever, on  this  occasion  was  limited  to  a  few  weeks 
at  most.  The  Reformation  had  not  yet  secured 
for  itself  any  visible  footing  in  the  town;  and 
by  the  ist  of  March  he  had  set  out  for  the  more 
congenial  atmosphere,  spiritually  at  least,  of 
Switzerland.1 

His  Swiss  tour  lasted  fully  two  months.  There 
was  little  appreciation  in  that  age  of  romantic 
scenery;  and  the  Reformer  would  have  been  sur- 
prised if  any  one  had  asked  him  about  his  impres- 
sions of  Mont  Blanc,  the  Bernese  Oberland,  or  the 
lakes  of  Lucerne  and  Geneva.  "  I  have  travelled,'' 
he  writes,  "through  all  the  congregations  of  Hel- 
vetia, and  reasoned  with  all  the  pastors  and  many 
other  excellently  learned  men."  2     At  Geneva  he 

i  Laing,  iii.,  159.  In  1547  Knox  thought  of  visiting  Ger- 
many (p.  72).  In  the  interval  he  had  come  to  know  more 
about  Lutheranism  and  Calvinism,  and  now  showed  his 
preference  for  the  latter.  His  attitude  towards  Lutheranism 
incidentally  discloses  itself,  when  he  complains  that  "perse- 
cutors have  imposed  on  us  the  name  of  Lutherans,  schis- 
mastic  and  heretics."      (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  310). 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iii.,  235. 


1559] 


On  the  Continent  121 


met  with  John  Calvin,  then  in  the  plenitude  of  his 
power  as  religious  dictator  of  the  city,  and  spirit- 
ual director  of  a  large  part  of  Reformed  Chris- 
tendom. At  Lausanne  he  probably  saw  Theodore 
Beza,  who  wrote  to  him  in  after  years  as  "my 
Knox,  my  very  dear  brother,"  and  included 
the  Reformer  among  his  Portraits  of  Illustrious 
Men."  '  At  Zurich  he  became  acquainted  with 
the  leader  of  German  Swiss  Protestantism  (after 
Zwingli's  death  in  1531) — Henry  Bullinger,  to 
whom  Calvin  had  commended  Knox :  and  to  Bul- 
linger the  four  questions  previously  referred  to 
were  immediately  addressed.  The  questions  in- 
dicated in  what  direction  Knox's  thoughts  were 
running.  The  first  related  to  the  obedience  due  to 
sovereigns  in  their  minority,  and  had  a  present 
reference  to  Mary  Stuart,  as  well  as  a  retrospective 
application  to  Edward  VI.,  and  to  the  validity  of 
ecclesiastical  arrangements  made  in  his  reign. 
The  second  question  referred  to  the  propriety,  or 
otherwise,  of  female  sovereignty,  and  to  the  right 
of  a  queen  to  "transfer"  the  government  to  her 
husband;  with  an  obvious  bearing  on  the  posi- 
tion of  Mary  Tudor,  who  was  about  to  marry  a 
Romish  fanatic,  and  of  Mary  Stuart,  who  was 
affianced  to  the  Dauphin  of  France.  The  third 
and  fourth  questions  asked  counsel  as  to  the  duty, 


1  Beza,  Epist.,  i.,  79;  hones,  Ee.  iii.  The  portrait  of  Knox 
was  sent  to  Beza  by  Sir  Peter  Young  in  1579,  and  is  recog- 
nised as  authentic   (Hume  Brown,  John  Knox,  ii.,  322). 


122  John  Knox  [i554- 

or  otherwise,  of  submitting  to  a  sovereign  who 
enforced  "  idolatry,"  and  as  to  the  kindred  obliga- 
tion, or  non-obligation,  to  aid  and  abet  a  religious 
nobility  in  resisting  an  idolatrous  ruler.  The 
latter  enquiry  was  obviously  suggested  by  the 
condition  of  Scotland  at  the  time:  the  former 
referred  to  the  position  of  Protestants  both  in 
Scotland  and  in  England.  Bullinger  answered 
cautiously.  A  lawfully  appointed  ruler,  he  holds, 
even  if  a  minor,  is  to  receive  "obedience":  and 
although  the  law  of  God  ordains  woman  to  be  in 
subjection,  "it  is  a  hazardous  thing  for  godly 
persons  to  oppose  political  regulations."  "We 
must  not  obey  commands  opposed  to  God  and 
His  lawful  worship";  but  any  "rash  attempt" 
at  resistance  is  discouraged;  the  "only  and  the 
true  deliverer"  is  God.1  Knox  did  not  accept 
Bullinger' s  moderate  dicta  without  qualification. 
Soon  after  receiving  the  answers  he  wrote  to  his 
"afflicted  brethren  in  England"  that  all  is  not 
lawful  or  just  which  is  statute  by  civil  law,  neither 
yet  is  everything  sin  which  ungodly  persons  allege 
to  be  treason.2  At  a  later  period,  Bullinger 's 
caution  about  opposition  to  female  sovereignty 
was  signally  disregarded. 

By  the  ioth  of  May  Knox  had  returned  to 
Dieppe.  He  was  anxious  to  "learn  the  estate  of 
England  and  Scotland"  through  letters  from  his 


1  Laing,  iii.,  219-226. 

2  Ibid.,  iii.,  236. 


i559l  On  the  Continent  123 

friends.1  From  England  he  would  receive  tidings 
of  the  imprisonment  of  all  the  leading  Reform- 
ers in  that  country,  and  also  of  the  approach- 
ing marriage  of  Mary  and  Philip  of  Spain — the 
prelude  to  the  bloody  persecution  which  was  the 
outcome  largely  of  Spanish  influence.  From 
Scotland  he  would  learn  that,  the  regency  had 
passed  out  of  Arran's  hands  into  the  stronger  grasp 
of  Mary  of  Guise.  From  the  new  Regent  the  Re- 
former had  little  hope  of  toleration  for  Protest- 
ants ; 2  her  policy  of  temporary  conciliation  until 
her  daughter's  marriage  with  the  Dauphin  had 
been  consummated,  was  not  yet  generally  known. 
To  neither  country,  therefore,  the  path  appeared 
open  for  Knox.  No  record  remains  of  any  com- 
munications from  him  to  fellow-countrymen  at  this 
time;  but  in  two  "Comfortable  Epistles  to  his 
Afflicted  Brethren  in  England  "  he  exhorts  them  to 
bear  patiently  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  uses  strong 
language  against  the  "false"  Tunstall  and  the 
"cruel"  Gardiner.3  In  the  course  of  the  summer 
he  was  in  "great  anguish  of  heart,"  owing  to  tid- 
ings that  many  English  Protestants  "began  to  fall 
before  that  idol"  (i.  e.,  the  mass).4  He  followed 
up  his  "Comfortable  Epistles"  accordingly,  with 
a  "  Faithful  Admonition  to  the  professors  of  God's 
truth  in  England.5  In  his  address  he  speaks  very 
plainly  of  the  Queen  as  one  who  "under  an  English 

1  Laing,  iii.,  253.  3  Ibid.,  iii.,  231-249. 

2  Ibid.,  iv.,  217.  4  Ibid.,  iii.,  345. 

5  Ibid.,  iii.,  263-330. 


124  John  Knox  [I5S4- 

name  beareth  a  Spaniard's  heart,"  and  of  episco- 
pal "traitors"  who,  after  solemnly  swearing  that 
they  would  never  consent  to  a  foreigner  reigning 
over  England,  had  "adjudged  the  imperial  crown 
of  the  same  to  appertain  to  a  Spaniard."  l 

III.  In  the  lingering  hope,  probably,  that  some 
brightening  of  the  ecclesiastical  horizon  might 
take  place  either  in  England  or  in  Scotland,  Knox 
remained  for  more  than  two  months  in  Dieppe. 
Before  the  end  of  July,  however,  when  the  govern- 
ment of  Mary  Tudor  had  been  firmly  established, 
notwithstanding  her  unpopular  marriage,  and 
when  no  prospect  of  useful  service  in  Scotland 
had  as  yet  been  assured,  the  Reformer  repaired  to 
what  had  become  the  metropolis  of  Reformed 
Christendom  and  a  chosen  resort  of  persecuted 
refugees — Geneva.  He  was  instinctively  drawn 
towards  the  man  who  was  destined  to  exert  a 
potent  influence  over  him,  and  through  him  over 
Scotland.  Within  a  few  weeks,  however,  this 
second  visit  to  Geneva  was  brought  to  a  close  by 
an  invitation  which  came  to  him  in  September 
from  Frankfort.2 

The  English  Protestant  refugees  on  the  Con- 
tinent at  this  period  are  believed  to  have  been 
nearly  one  thousand   in  number.3      Of  these  a 

1  Laing,  iii.,  296,  297.  2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  231,  232. 

3  See  Burnet,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  502.  Article  by  Froude  in 
Ed.  Rev.,  lxxxv.,  398.  The  chief  resorts,  besides  Geneva 
and  Frankfort,  were  Emden  in  Friesland,  Wesel  in  Rhine- 
land,  Strassburg,  Zurich,  and  Basel. 


1559] 


On  the  Continent  125 


considerable  proportion  settled  in  Frankfort,  on 
account  of  its  tolerant  government,  its  central 
position,  and  its  commercial  connexions  which 
facilitated  communication  with  home.  Twenty- 
one  of  these  exiles,  including  John  Bale,  Bishop 
of  Ossory,  Thomas  Cole,  Dean  of  Sarum,  and  Wil- 
liam Whittingham,  afterwards  Dean  of  Durham, 
despatched  to  Geneva  a  call  to  Knox  to  accept 
office  as  one  of  two  pastors  of  the  refugee  congre- 
gation.1 Permission  had  been  obtained  from 
the  magistrates  to  hold  service  in  the  Church  of 
the ''White  Ladies"  (Cistercian  nuns),  the  use  of 
which  had  already  been  granted  to  a  Walloon 
congregation  under  the  ministry  of  Valerand  Pul- 
lain.  The  original  membership  of  the  English 
community  belonged  chiefly  to  the  Puritan  sec- 
tion of  Reformers ;  and  the  privilege  of  worship- 
ping in  the  church  was  accorded  to  them  on 
condition  of  their  adherence  to  the  Walloon  doc- 
trine and  ritual,  which  were  modelled  on  those 
of  Geneva.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  for  the 
refugees  from  England  to  choose  as  their  pastor  a 
gifted  preacher  like  Knox,  who  had  already  mani- 
fested Puritan  tendencies. 

Knox  was  at  first  unwilling  to  accept  the  in- 
vitation. He  had  already  recognised  in  Calvin 
one  from  whom  he  could  learn  much;  and, 
in  the  hope  that  an  opportunity  might  ere  long 
come  to  him  of  service  at  home,  he  was  probably 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K,t  iv.,  13. 


126  John  Knox  [iS54- 

reluctant  to  hamper  himself  with  pastoral  re- 
sponsibilities. But  the  masterful  will  of  the 
Genevan  dictator  operated  effectually  on  the 
Scottish  refugee.  "  At  the  commandment  of  that 
notable  servant  of  God,  John  Calvin," — so  Knox 
himself  relates, — he  obeyed  the  call  and  arrived  at 
Frankfort  in  November,  1554.1 

It  was  in  keeping  with  Knox's  chequered  for- 
tunes throughout  life  that  he  found  in  his  new 
sphere  not  a  haven  of  rest,  but  a  sea  of  troubles. 
Frankfort  became  the  scene  of  a  contention  which 
presented  a  forecast  in  miniature  of  the  conflict 
between  Puritanism  and  Anglicanism.  The  Eng- 
lish congregation,  with  mingled  generosity  and 
self-importance,  had  written  to  other  refugee 
communities,  informing  them  of  the  privileges 
which  they  enjoyed,  and  inviting  exiles  to  join 
them.  Negotiations  commenced  with  the  Eng- 
lish at  Zurich;  but  a  service-book  which  Knox 
and  his  friends  had  drawn  up  for  congregational 
use,2  on  the  basis  of  the  Liturgies  of  Calvin  and 
of  Pullain,  stood  in  the  way.  These  exiles  were 
unwilling  to  set  aside  the  Prayer-book  of  Edward, 
to  which  they  had  been  accustomed  at  home, 
and  which  their  Protestant  brethren  in  England 
continued  to  use  at  the  peril  of  their  lives.  The 
refugees  at  Strassburg  were  somewhat  more  ac- 
commodating;   but  they  made  it  a  condition  of 


Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  231,  232. 

A.  F.  Mitchell,  Scott.  Ref.,  p.  124. 


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i559l  On  ^e  Continent  127 

their  adherence  that  the  substance  of  the  English 
Prayer-book  should  be  accepted.  Negotiations, 
in  consequence,  were  broken  off  and  Knox  offered 
to  retire  with  a  view  to  peace.  Meanwhile,  how- 
ever, Thomas  Lever,  one  of  the  Zurich  community, 
accepted  a  call  to  be  Knox's  colleague,  and  be- 
came the  leader  of  a  section  of  the  Frankfort  con- 
gregation who  favoured  the  introduction  of  the 
English  Liturgy.  Both  parties  agreed  to  submit 
the  question  to  Calvin,  who  deprecated  contention 
about  forms  of  prayer  as  "too  much  out  of  sea- 
son," but  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  Prayer- 
book  contained  many  "  foolish  things  which  might 
yet  be  tolerated"  (tolerabiles  ineptias)  and  "had 
not  that  purity  which  was  desired."  l  A  compro- 
mise was  adopted  in  February,  1555,  according 
to  which  the  Liturgy  as  a  whole  was  to  be  used, 
but  the  litany,  congregational  responses,  and 
commemoration  of  saints  were  to  be  omitted ;  the 
surplice  was  not  to  be  worn,  and  sitting  was 
to  be  substituted  for  kneeling  at  the  Lord's 
Supper.  "Thanks  were  given  to  God;  the  Holy 
Communion  was,  upon  this  happy  agreement, 
ministered."  2 

Hardly,  however,  had  this  settlement  been  at- 
tained when  the  conflict  was  reopened  through  the. 
arrival  in  March  of  a  fresh  company  of  exiles 
under  the  guidance  of  Richard  Cox,  Chancellor  of 


T  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  28,  29. 
2  Ibid.,  iv.,  31. 


128  John  Knox  [ISS4- 

Oxford  University.  The  new-comers  insisted  on 
uttering  the  responses,  as  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  do  at  home ;  and  one  of  them  suddenly 
entered  the  pulpit  and  read  the  litany.  Knox  re- 
strained himself  at  the  time ;  but  in  his  sermon  at 
afternoon  service  on  the  same  day,  he  reproved 
those  by  whom  the  "  godly  agreement  was  ungodly 
broken."  Owing  to  the  recent  accession,  the 
majority  were  now  in  favour  of  the  English 
Prayer-book.  They  found  their  action,  however, 
hampered  by  the  intervention  of  Johann  von  Glau- 
burg,  an  influential  Calvinistic  magistrate.  So 
long  as  peace  prevailed  he  had  abstained  from  in- 
terference ;  but  he  now  warned  the  congregation 
that  unless  the  condition  on  which  the  use  of  the 
church  had  been  given  was  fulfilled,  the  doors  of 
the  building  would  be  closed  against  them. * 

The  discomfiture  of  the  party  led  by  Cox 
tempted  them  into  an  unworthy  retaliation. 
In  his  "  Faithful  Admonition"  published  in  the 
preceding  July,  the  Reformer,  with  intemperate 
exaggeration,  had  referred  incidentally  to  the  Em- 
peror Charles  V.  as  "no  less  an  enemy  to  Christ 
than  ever  was  Nero."  2  Two  members  of  the 
congregation 3  brought  this  epistle  under  the  notice 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  32-37. 

2  Ibid.,  iii.,  308. 

3  Edward  Isaak,  afterwards  Sheriff  of  Kent,  and  Henry- 
Parry,  Chancellor  of  Salisbury  (Laing,  iv.,  47).  Among 
those  by  whose  counsel  they  acted,  Knox  includes  "Jewell  of 
Oxford,"  afterwards  Bishop  of  Salisbury. 


1559] 


On  the  Continent  129 


of  the  Frankfort  magistracy.  The  magistrates 
were  in  a  difficulty.  Knox  was  the  leader  of  the 
party  who  were  loyal  to  municipal  directions; 
his  accusers  belonged  to  the  section  whose  ad- 
vent had  introduced  dispeace  and  disregard  of 
civic  injunctions.  On  the  other  hand,  Charles 
was  then  in  Augsburg,  within  one  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  of  Frankfort.  He  might  receive  an 
account  of  Knox's  description  of  him;  and  the 
magistrates  shrank  from  incurring  the  charge  of 
having  put  the  calumniator  of  the  Emperor  into 
a  position  of  authority.  Knox,  accordingly,  was 
first  interdicted  from  preaching;  and  when  his 
opponents  urged  the  magistracy  to  take  further 
action,  the  latter,  unwilling  to  prosecute,  yet  afraid 
to  let  Knox  alone,  requested  him  to  relieve  them 
from  their  difficulty  by  voluntary  departure. 
Whittingham,  Cole,  Foxe,  and  others  followed 
him  in  his  withdrawal  from  the  city,  some  going 
to  Basel,  others  to  Geneva.1 


1  Laing,  iv.,  38-51.  The  removal  of  Knox  and  his  friends 
was  not  followed  by  "peace  and  prosperity.  "  "Cox  and  his 
partisans  were  not  long  of  suffering  from  internal  divisions. 
Robert  Home,  one  of  the  party,  in  a  letter  dated  February, 
1556,  speaks  of  the  Church  of  our  exiles  at  Frankfort  as 
almost  ruined."  See  Etienne  Huraut,  John  Knox  et  ses  re- 
lations avec  les  eglises  reformees  du  continent,  p.  49.  It  is  an 
interesting  circumstance  (kindly  communicated  to  me  by 
the  present  English  Chaplain  at  Frankfort,  the  Rev.  G.  W. 
Mackenzie,)  that  for  nine  months,  in  1881-82,  the  still  exist- 
ing White  Ladies'  Church  was  occupied  by  the  English  con- 
gregation of  the  city. 
9 


130  John  Knox  [i554- 

In  reviewing  Knox's  procedure  at  Frankfort, 
one  cannot  but  regret  that  he  allowed  himself  to 
be  persuaded  by  Calvin  to  accept  a  position  the 
difficulty  of  which  he  must  have  foreseen.  That 
a  representative  body  of  English  Protestants 
should  discard  (except  through  local  constraint) 
the  reformed  ritual,  established  in  England  prior 
to  Mary  Tudor's  accession,  in  favour  of  any  other 
form  of  worship,  was  a  "divisive  course"  which 
could  not  but  weaken  the  Reform  cause.  On  the 
other  hand,  that  Knox,  after  being  called  to  the 
pastorate  of  a  congregation  with  whose  form  of 
worship  he  was  in  accord,  should  be  constrained 
to  efface  his  own  and  others'  convictions,  in  order 
to  sat  sfy  the  scruples  of  new-comers,  was  un- 
justifiable and  intolerable.  His  position  at  Frank- 
fort was  an  impossible  one.  The  comparison 
of  Charles  V.  to  Nero  was  equally  unjust  and  im- 
prudent ;  but  in  that  age  even  godly  men,  in  the 
heat  of  controversy,  often  wrote  of  opponents  with 
offensive  rancour  l ;  and  Knox's  fault  sinks  into 
insignificance  compared  with  the  spiteful  mean- 
ness of  those  who  dragged  into  public  notice  one 
rash  word  of  a  man  whom  their  fellow  Re- 
formers had  invited  to  be  their  pastor,  and  with 
whom,  in  things  essential,  they  themselves  were 
agreed.  Both  parties  were  anxious  to  have  Cal- 
vin on  their  side ;  their  letters  to  him  are  extant. 


1  In  1540,  Luther  wrote  about  the  Emperor  as  a  "servant 
of  the  servants  of  Satan."     Luther sbriefe,  v.,  275. 


1559]  On  the  Continent  131 

Calvin's  sympathies,  on  the  question  of  ritual, 
were  with  the  Puritans,  but  he  refrained  from 
"moving  a  new  contention  of  a  matter  which  is 
well  ended."  "One  thing,"  however,  he  adds 
significantly,  "I  cannot  keep  secret,  that  Master 
Knox  was,  in  my  judgment,  neither  godly  nor 
brotherly  dealt  withal."  r 

IV.  Knox  returned  to  Geneva  about  the  end 
of  March,  1555.  He  arrived  at  a  notable  junc- 
ture in  the  history  of  the  town.  A  few  weeks 
before,  the  closing  scene  had  been  enacted  in  a  pro- 
longed conflict  of  Calvin  and  his  Puritan  sup- 
porters with  the  "Libertines"  who  inclined 
towards  Antinomianism,  and  the  "Patriots,"  who 
disliked  the  influx  of  foreigners.  The  two  main 
points  of  controversy  had  been  the  authority 
of  the  Church,  apart  from  the  State,  to  inflict 
excommunication — an  authority  essential,  as  Cal- 
vin insisted,  to  spiritual  independence;  and 
the  admission  of  strangers  to  the  full  rights  of 
citizens — a  measure  advocated  by  him  as  desirable 
both  for  the  material  prosperity  of  the  city,  and 
for  its  prestige  as  a  chosen  refuge  of  persecuted 
Protestants.  Calvin  and  the  Reform  party  had 
triumphed  on  both  issues;  the  right  of  excom- 
munication had  been  conceded  to  the  Church ;  and 
early  in  1555  fifty  foreigners  had  been  admitted 
to  citizenship.  A  few  weeks  after  Knox's  arrival 
the  leaders  of   the  Patriots  and  the  Libertines 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  59. 


132  John  Knox  [i554- 

attempted  to  secure  by  lawless  violence  what 
they  had  failed  to  accomplish  by  constitutional 
procedure.  On  the  night  of  the  13th  of  May,  a 
riot  was  organised.  By  means  of  the  watchword, 
"  Geneva  for  the  Genevese!  "  it  was  attempted  to 
stir  up  the  baser  patriotism  of  citizens  to  revolu- 
tion and  bloodshed.  The  conspiracy  failed;  the 
revolutionary  forces  were  mastered ;  the  intended 
assassination  of  foreigners  was  prevented ;  four  of 
the  rebels  were  beheaded ;  other  leaders  of  the  in- 
surrection escaped  execution  only  through  flight ; 
and  Calvin's  ascendency  in  Geneva  was  effectu- 
ally established.1  Three  years  afterwards,,  when 
Knox  was  composing  his  treatise  on  Predesti- 
nation, the  events  of  that  memorable  night  were 
still  fresh  in  his  memory.  He  declares  that  be- 
neath hatred  of  strangers  there  lay,  as  the  real 
cause  of  the  conspiracy,  hatred  of  the  ''reforma- 
tion of  manners"  by  men  "filthy  in  life,"  and  he 
describes  the  remarkable  intervention,  as  he  be- 
lieved, of  Providence,  through  which  a  rebel  mul- 
titude were  overcome  and  dispersed  by  a  little 
band  of  loyal  citizens.2 

The  spectacle  of  Calvin's  triumph  could  not  fail 
to  impress  itself  upon  Knox,  and  fortified  him 
afterwards,  doubtless,  in  his  own  ecclesiastical  con- 
flicts. Calvin's  influence  over  him  in  the  spheres  of 
doctrine  and  Church  government  will  afterwards 


1  Henry,  Life  of  Calvin,  ii.,  315-317. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  v.,  212-214. 


i559l  On  the  Continent  133 

come  before  us ;  what  impressed  him  in  the  first 
instance  was  the  Swiss  Reformer's  moral  power. 
The  Church  of  Geneva — so  Knox  wrote  in  1556 — 
"  is  the  most  perfect  school  of  Christ  that  ever  was 
in  the  earth  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  In 
other  places  I  confess  Christ  to  be  truly  preached ; 
but  manners  and  religion  so  sincerely  reformed  I 
have  not  yet  seen  in  any  other  place."  l  As  one 
result  of  the  triumph  of  Calvin's  party,  the  coun- 
cil not  only  admitted  the  English  refugees  to 
citizenship,  but  ordered  accommodation  to  be  pro- 
vided for  their  common  worship.  Knox's  posi- 
tion as  ex-pastor  of  the  exiles  at  Frankfort  led 
to  his  selection  as  minister  of  the  Geneva  congrega- 
tion, a  portion  of  which  had  been  under  his  pastor- 
ate in  the  former  town.2  Before  many  weeks  had 
elapsed,  however,  he  resolved  somewhat  suddenly 
to  return,  at  least  for  a  time,  to  Scotland.  We 
have  Knox's  own  testimony  that  this  journey 
was  "most  contrarious  to  my  own  judgment,"  and 
that  his  future  mother-in-law  was  the  instrument 
to  "  draw  me  from  the  den  of  my  own  ease  "  at 
Geneva.3     Scotland  was  not  yet  ripe,  he  believed 

1  Letter  to  Mrs.  Locke,  in  Laing,  iv.,  240. 

2  In  June,  1555,  Calvin  applied  to  the  Council  of  Geneva, 
on  behalf  of  the  English  congregation,  for  the  use  of  a  church. 
The  church  was  not  officially  granted  till  five  months  later; 
but  Knox  probably  began  about  the  time  of  Calvin's  ap- 
plication to  minister  to  a  congregation  already  in  course  of 
formation,  although  he  was  not  formally  appointed  as  pastor 
until  November,  during  his  visit  to  Scotland  (Ibid.,  51). 

3  Letter  to  Mrs.  Bowes,  in  Ibid.,  217. 


134  John  Knox  [1554- 

for  an  aggressive  Reformation  movement.  Mrs. 
Bowes,  apart  from  any  personal  reason  for  desir- 
ing Knox's  return,  had  fuller  means  of  knowing 
the  more  hopeful  ecclesiastical  condition  of  the 
country. 

V.  Knox's  visit  to  Scotland  in  1555-56  will  be 
described  in  the  following  chapter.  He  left  Gen- 
eva in  the  end  of  August,  and  paid  a  visit  to  Ber- 
wick on  his  way  to  Edinburgh.1  His  marriage  to 
Marjorie  Bowes  appears  to  have  taken  place  on 
this  occasion,  or  during  his  residence  in  Scotland. 
In  the  summer  of  1556  he  received  a  sum- 
mons, which  he  obeyed,  from  his  congregation 
at  Geneva;  and  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  in 
July,  he  sent  on  before  him,  to  Dieppe,  not 
only  his  wife  but  his  mother-in-law.2  Mrs. 
Bowes's  position  in  Berwick,  as  a  zealous  Pro- 
testant amid  Catholic  environment,  had  appar- 
ently become  more  difficult  than  ever  to  maintain. 
The  party,  accompanied  by  a  pupil  called  Patrick 
and  a  man-servant,  James,  arrived  in  Geneva 
early  in  September.3  The  congregation  of  Eng- 
lish exiles  there  had  never  ceased  to  regard  Knox 
as  their  minister.  In  the  preceding  November, 
indeed,  Christopher  Goodman  and  Anthony  Gilby  4 


1  Letter  to  Mrs.  Bowes,  in  Laing,  iv.,  217. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  253. 

3  Lime  des  Anglois,  p.  3  (A.  F.  Mitchell's  ed.). 

4  Goodman  and  Gilby  had  both  been  adherents  of  Knox  at 
Frankfort.  Goodman,  a  native  of  Chester,  followed  Knox  to 
Scotland  in    1559,  became  minister  of  St.  Andrews   at  the 


i559]  On  the  Continent  135 

had  been  elected  to  "  preach  the  Word  of  God  and 
minister  the  Sacraments ' ' ;  but  Gilby  was  ex- 
pressly appointed  only  "to  supply  the  room  till 
Knox  returned";  and  in  December,  1556,  the 
latter  was  reappointed,  with  Goodman  as  col- 
league, to  the  pastorate.1 

During  Knox's  absence  the  English  exiles  had 
been  accommodated  in  the  little  Church  of  Notre 
Dame  la  Neuve,  situated  close  to  the  Cathedral  of 
S.  Pierre,  and  used  by  Calvin  as  a  lecture  hall.2 
The  Livre  des  Anglois  enumerates  212  persons  who 
composed  the  regular  membership  of  this  Anglo - 
Genevan  congregation.  Among  the  "  Seniors"  or 
Elders  (for  the  Genevan  church  polity  had  been 
adopted)  were  Miles  Coverdale,  the  translator  of 
the  Bible,  whose  version  of  the  Psalms  is  still  used 
in  the  Church  of  England;  Thomas  Sampson, 
formerly  Dean  of  Chichester  who  afterwards  de- 
clined the  Bishopric  of  Norwich  on  account  of  his 
Puritan  convictions ;  William  Whittingham,  the 
husband  of  Calvin's  sister-in-law,  and  Knox's 
successor  in  the  Geneva  pastorate ;  John  Bodley 
of  Exeter,  and  his  son  Thomas,  the  founder  of 
the  Bodleian  Library;  Thomas  Bentham,  a 
distinguished    Hebraist,    afterwards     Bishop    of 


Reformation,  and  returned  to  England  in  1565.  Gilby  be- 
longed to  Lincolnshire.  After  the  accession  of  Elizabeth, 
he  became  Vicar  of  Ashby  de  la  Zouch. 

1  Livre  des  Anglois,  49;    Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  51. 

2  Hence   its  more    usual    designation — L'Auditoire.      The 
building,  with  some  structural  alterations,  still  exists. 


136  John  Knox  [iSS4- 

Lichfield ;  and  James  Pilkington,  one  of  the  Frank- 
fort refugees,  who  became  Bishop  of  Durham.  The 
roll  of  members  included  ten  persons  in  Orders  be- 
sides the  pastors ;  ten  students  preparing  for  the 
holy  ministry;  and  numerous  representatives  of 
the  gentry  and  mercantile  class . l  Among  the  women 
of  the  congregation  one  merits  special  notice — 
Mrs.  Anne  Locke,  who  arrived  in  Geneva  with  her 
son  and  daughter  in  May,  1557.  Her  husband 
was  a  London  merchant,  with  whom  Knox  had 
become  acquainted  in  England.  In  a  letter  written 
from  Geneva  in  1556  to  Mrs.  Locke  and  another 
lady,  the  Reformer  gratefully  recalls  the  "special 
care  "  of  the  two  women  over  him,  comparing  it  to 
that  of  mother  over  child.2  His  strong  views  re- 
garding the  unfitness  of  women  to  "bear  rule" 
were  united  with  a  full  appreciation  of  womanly 
ministry;  and  Mrs.  Locke  appears  to  have  been 
particularly  helpful  through  her  intelligent  sym- 
pathy with  his  religious  work  and  aspirations. 
In  return  he  aided  her  with  counsel  in  religious 
matters;  and  four  days  after  her  settlement  in 
Geneva  she  needed  his  comfort  on  the  sudden 
death  of  her  daughter.3     The  form  of  service  used 


1  A.  F.  Mitchell's  ed.  of  the  Livre  des  Anglois,  6-1 1. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  220. 

3  Livre  des  Anglois,  p.  15.  Knox's  extant  letters  to  Mrs. 
Locke  extend  from  1556  to  1562.  He  kept  her  informed  of 
his  proceedings,  sent  to  her  more  than  one  of  his  writings, 
confided  to  her  his  hopes  and  fears,  and  asked  repeatedly  to 
be  remembered  in  her  prayers.     "The  correspondence  [so  an 


Church  of  S.  Pierre,  Geneva. 


1559] 


On  the  Continent  137 


by  the  congregation — the  Book  of  Geneva — was 
substantially  that  which  had  been  originally  in 
use  at  Frankfort  prior  to  the  "troubles";  and  it 
was  the  Service-book  which,  with  some  modifica- 
tion, became  in  1560  the  Book  of  Common  Order 
in  the  Scottish  Church. 

Knox's  life  at  Geneva  was  no  idle  one,  although 
he  called  it,  by  comparison  with  life  in  his 
native  land,  a  "den  of  ease."  Three  months  after 
his  return  from  Scotland,  he  excuses  himself 
for  "bare  and  brief  letters"  on  the  ground  of 
family  cares  and  congregational  work.  The  pre- 
sence in  his  household  of  a  mother-in-law  who 
habitually  required  his  spiritual  counsel  would  not 


eminent  author  declares]  testifies  to  a  good,  sound,  down- 
right friendship  between  the  two";  and  in  one  of  Knox's 
letters  occurs  what  the  same  writer  calls  the  "truest  touch 
of  personal  humility  in  all  Knox's  extant  writings."  Re- 
ferring to  his  own  constancy  in  friendship,  although  "of 
nature  churlish,"  he  modestly  accounts  thus  for  such  con- 
stancy: "I  have  rather  need  of  all  than  any  have  need  of 
me"  (R.  L.  Stevenson,  Men  and  Books,  272,  273;  Laing,  W. 
of  K.,  vi.,  11).  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  in  connec- 
tion with  Mrs.  Locke's  coming  to  Geneva,  that  Knox  was 
somewhat  selfishly  inconsiderate  of  her  husband's  wishes  and 
comfort.  After  hearing  of  Mrs.  Locke's  earnest  desire  to  see 
himself,  and  expressing  the  "thirst  and  languor"  which  he 
had  for  her  presence  and  sympathy,  he  writes  to  her :  ' '  Were 
it  not  that  partly  ye  are  impeded  by  empire  of  your  head 
[i.  e.,  her  husband]  ...  in  my  heart  I  would  have 
wished,  yea  and  cannot  cease  to  wish,  that  it  would  please 
God  to  guide  and  conduct  yourself  to  this  place  "  (Laing, 
W.  of  K.,  iv.,  238,  240).  This  was  a  virtual  encouragement 
to  Mrs.  Locke  to  extort  from  her  husband  permission  to  go 
to  Geneva. 


138  John  Knox  [i554- 

lighten  his  burden;  and  there  is  a  mixture  of 
pathos  and  comedy  in  his  reference  to  "daily 
troubles  occurring  in  my  domestic  charge,  where- 
with before  I  have  not  been  accustomed  and 
therefore  are  they  the  more  fearful."  *  The  stan- 
dard of  clerical  public  duty  in  Geneva  was  some- 
what exacting.  Calvin  himself,  besides  his 
academic  work  preached  thrice  a  week,  and  on  a 
fourth  day  expounded  Scripture.2  The  appetite 
for  services  (and  these  not  remarkable  for  brev- 
ity), among  a  congregation  of  foreigners,  many 
of  whom  were  without  any  stated  occupation, 
was  not  likely  to  be  less  keen  than  that  of  an  as- 
sembly of  busy  Genevese.  Knox  accordingly,  we 
may  presume,  followed  Calvin's  example ;  and  to 
minister  acceptably  to  a  flock  which  included  a 
score  of  divines  and  divinity  students,  involved 
exposure  to  abundant  criticism,  and  demanded  no 
mere  superficial  preparation.  During  the  two  and 
a  half  years,  moreover,  of  Knox's  Genevan  minis- 
try he  was  constantly  engaged  in  literary  work. 
Not  to  speak  of  numerous  private  letters  which, 
although  described  by  himself  as  "bare  and 
brief,"  occasionally  reached  the  dimensions  of  a 
modern  sermon,*  the  Reformer's  literary  publica- 


xLaing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  239. 

2  Schaff,  Swiss  Reformation,  445  ;   Beza,  Opera,  xxi.,  132. 

3  One  letter  is  a  long  reply  to  "  Sisters  in  Edinburgh  "  who 
enquired  about  "  women  's  apparel."  Knox  pleads  that  the 
subject  is  "  difficill  and  dangerous";  declares  that  there  is 
"no  uncleanness  "  in    "silks,  velvet,  gold";    and  that  the 


1559] 


On  the  Continent  139 


tions  at  Geneva  included  his  First  Blast  against 
the  Monstrous  Regiment  [i.  e.,  Rule]  of  Women,1  the 
amplification  of  a  letter  addressed  by  him  to  the 
Regent  Mary  of  Scotland  in  1556 ;  an  Appellation 
from  a  sentence  pronounced  against  him  in  his 
absence  by  the  Scottish  hierarchy  in  the  same 

evil  lies  in  the  "  abuse  of  the  same  to  ostentation"  and 
"  affectation  of  beauty  other  than  nature  has  given."  He 
commits  himself,  however,  to  the  condemnation  of  hair-dye, 
farthingales,  and  wearing  the  "  claithing  of  men."  (Laing, 
W.  of  K.,  iv.,  225-236). 

1  "To  promote  a  woman  to  bear  rule  .  .  .  above  any 
realm,  is  repugnant  to  nature,  contumely  to  God,  a  thing 
most  contrarious  to  His  revealed  will  and  approved  ordi- 
nance; and  finally  it  is  the  subversion  of  good  order,  of  all 
equity  and  justice"  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  373).  He  founds 
his  main  argument  on  the  saying  of  St.  Paul:  "I  suffer  not  a 
woman  ...  to  usurp  authority  over  the  man,"  and  on 
the  sentence  pronounced  upon  woman  after  the  fall,  "Thy 
will  shall  be  subject  unto  thy  husband";  since  "she  that  is 
subject  to  one  may  not  rule  many";  but  he  ignores  the 
modification  of  the  law  of  subjection  in  such  particular  cases 
as  those  of  Deborah  and  Huldah;  and  he  supports  his  argu- 
ment by  unfair  references  to  the  "inordinate  lust,"  "foolish 
fondness  and  cowardice,"  murderous  "cruelty  and  phrenzy" 
of  individual  women.  Knox  was  supported  in  his  contention 
by  Goodman  and  Whittingham;  but  Foxe  wrote  to  him 
what  Knox  calls  a"  loving  and  friendly  letter"  of  expostula- 
tion. Beza  declares  that  "as  soon  as  we  learned  the 
contents"  of  the  Blast,  the  "sale  was  forbidden";  Morel 
denounced  it  to  Calvin  as  "  pessimum  et  pestilentissimum  "; 
and  Calvin  himself  censured  Knox's  "thoughtless  arro- 
gance." (Laing,  iv.,  356-8;  v.,  5;  Calv.  Opera,  xvii.,  541). 
In  1559,  after  Elizabeth's  accession,  John  Aylmer,  an  Eng- 
lish exile  during  the  time  of  persecution,  replied  to  the  Blast 
in  a  work  entitled  An  Harborowe  for  Faithful  and  Trewe 
Subjects.      He  recognises  Knox's  "honesty  and  godliness," 


140  John  Knox  [1554- 

year;  a  Letter  to  the  Commonalty  of  Scotland,  in 
1558 *;  and  two  treatises  of  a  hortatory  character 
in  fulfilment  of  the  obligations  under  which  he 
lay  to  the  people  of  England,  and  especially  to 
"the  inhabitants  of  Newcastle  and  Berwick."2 
The  long  and  elaborate  treatise  on  Predestination 
was  published  in  1560,  when  Knox  had  finally  re- 
turned to  his  native  land ;  but  the  composition  of 
the  work  belongs  to  the  period  of  his  Geneva 
pastorate,  when  he  was  holding  constant  inter- 
course with  Calvin.3  Notwithstanding  engrossing 
labours,  and  occasional  worries,  this  period  was 
probably  the  happiest  of  the  Reformer's  mature 
life.  That  he  looked  back  upon  it  with  great 
pleasure  was  shown  incidentally  long  afterwards 
by  a  private  letter  written  in  1568,  when  his  work 
in  Scotland  appeared  to  have  been  completed. 
He  writes  with  kindliest  memory  of  that  "little 
flock"  at  Geneva,  "among  whom  I  lived  with 
quietness  of  conscience  and  contentment  of  heart ; 


but  blames  him  for  lack  of  "moderation"  and  publication 
of  the  work  "out  of  season."  Knox  himself  in  his  letter  to 
Foxe  admits  his  "rude  vehemency";  although  he  never  dis- 
avowed his  arguments  (Laing,  iv.,  351;  v.,  5).  A  year  after- 
wards we  find  him  admitting  that  his  Blast  hath  "blown 
from  me  all  my  friends  in  England"  {ibid.,  vi.,  14);  and 
although  in  the  interval  he  published  the  summary  of  a  pro- 
posed Second  Blast  {ibid.,  iv.,  539),  the  intention,  fortu- 
nately, was  never  carried  out. 

1  The  significance  of  these  works  is  indicated  in  Chap.  VII. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  v.,  469-522. 

3  Ibid.,  v.,  9-468.     See  Note  at  the  end  of  this  Chapter. 


i SS9]  On  the  Continent  141 

among  whom  I  would  be  content  to  end  my  days, 
if  so  it  might  stand  with  God's  good  pleasure."  l 
In  Geneva  Knox's  two  sons,  Nathanael  and 
Eleazer,  were  born:  the  former  was  baptised  in 
May,  1557,  with  Whittingham  as  "god-father"; 
the  latter  in  November,  1558,  with  Coverdale 
as  "witness."2  Of  Mrs.  Knox's  life  in  Geneva, 
no  record  remains,  but  the  impression  she  left 
upon  those  with  whom  she  came  in  contact  must 
have  been  agreeable;  for  Calvin  describes  her 
as  suavissima  and  a  wife  whose  like  is  not 
found  everywhere.3  For  Knox  himself  the  social 
and  religious  fellowship  of  Geneva  and  its  vicinity 
could  not  fail  to  be  quickening.  In  addition  to 
Calvin,  there  were  Theodore  Beza,  Professor  of 
Greek  in  the  adjacent  town  of  Lausanne  and 
afterwards  Calvin's  successor  in  the  ministry; 
Peter  Viret,  pastor  and  teacher  for  twenty-two 
years  in  that  town,  which  he  left  for  Geneva  in 
the  spring  of  1559;  Farel,  the  founder  of  the 
Genevan  Reformed  Church,  and  at  that  time 
chief  pastor  of  Neuchatel;  Vico  of  Naples,  who 
had  organised  an  Italian  congregation  at  Geneva 
a  few  years  before  Knox's  arrival,  and  the  two 
brothers  Colladon — Nicholas,  who  succeeded  Cal- 
vin as  Professor  of  Theology,  and  Germain,  who 
co-operated  with  Calvin  in  drawing  up  a  code  of 


1  Letter  to  John  Wood  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  559). 

2  Livre  des  Anglois,  p.  73. 

3  Letters  of  Calvin  in  Laing,  vi.,124,  125. 


142  John  Knox  [i5s4- 

laws  for  Geneva.1  Along  with  these  were  the  Eng- 
lish clergy  already  enumerated,  most  of  whom 
afterwards  exerted  a  notable  influence  in  the 
Church  of  their  own  land.  From  these  divines 
came  forth  the  famous  Geneva  translation  of 
the  Bible  and  an  English  metrical  Psalter.  The 
former  work  was  mainly  composed  by  Whitting- 
ham;  but  others,  including,  doubtless,  Knox, 
assisted  in  the  revision.2  It  became  at  once  the 
popular  version  in  Britain,  and  retained  its  hold 
for  many  years  after  the  "authorised"  version 
was  issued  in  1611.  The  metrical  Psalter  formed 
part  of  the  Book  of  Geneva,  and  consisted  of  fifty- 
one  Psalms  in  metre.  It  was  the  nucleus  of  the 
original  Psalter  of  the  Reformed  Scottish  Church.3 
To  be  pastor  of  such  a  congregation  in  such  a 
city  was  for  Knox  both  a  high  privilege  and  a 
source  of  power.  Through  intercourse  with  men 
like  Calvin,  Beza,  and  Vico,  Coverdale,  Sampson, 
and  Whittingham,  he  was  prepared  for  the  great 


1  Stebbing,  Life  of  Calvin,  i.,  109;  ii.,  84,  129,  140;  Schaff, 
Swiss  Reformation,  pp.  248,  446,  464,  465,  518,  851-854. 

2  G.  Milligan,  English  Bible,  pp.  79-82;  A.  F.  Mitchell, 
Scott.  Ref. ,  p.  9 1 .  Two  hundred  editions  of  the  Geneva  Bible 
were  published. 

3  Of  the  fifty-one  Psalms,  forty-four  were  adopted,  after 
revision,  from  an  earlier  work  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins;  the 
remaining  seven  were  supplied  by  Whittingham.  The  com- 
pletion of  the  Scottish  Psalter,  in  1564,  was  due,  chiefly,  to 
the  labours  of  Robert  Pont  and  John  Craig,  who  contributed 
versions  of  their  own  composition  (J.  C.  Hadden,  in  Scottish 
Review  for  January,  1891,  pp.  5-10). 


i559]  On  the  Continent  H3 

work  that  lay  before  him  in  Scotland.  On  the 
other  hand,  his  own  strong  convictions,  religious 
and  political,  along  with  his  habit  of  fearless  ex- 
pression, could  not  be  without  influence  even  on 
Swiss  divines,  and  helped  to  fortify  his  fellow- 
refugees  in  attachment  to  the  principles  of  Puri- 
tanism and  of  constitutional  government. 

VI.  The  ministry  of  Knox  at  Geneva  was  in- 
terrupted a  second  time  by  an  invitation  which 
reached  him  in  May,  1557,  from  four  Protestant 
Scottish  nobles — Lords  Lome,  Glencairn,  Erskine, 
and  James  Stewart.  The  letter  containing  this 
invitation  refers  to  an  improvement  in  the  re- 
ligious condition  of  the  country  from  the  Pro- 
testant standpoint.  On  the  one  hand,  there  was 
now  an  absence  of  persecution,  and  those  "  enemies 
to  Christ's  evangel,"  the  friars,  were  "in  less  esti- 
mation." On  the  other  hand,  there  was  a  readi- 
ness not  only  to  hear  Reformed  doctrine,  but  to 
"jeopard  life  and  goods  in  the  forward  setting  of 
the  glory  of  God."  A  strong  desire,  accordingly, 
prevailed — so  the  letter  indicated — that  the  Re- 
former would  return  "  to  Scotland,  to  advance  the 
cause  by  his  presence."  x 

It  cannot  be  said  that  Knox  hastened  to  obey 
this  summons.  His  religious  patriotism  was  not 
cooled;  but  conflicting  responsibilities,  domestic 
and  pastoral,  had  to  be  weighed.  He  took  coun- 
sel, therefore,  with  other  ministers  of  the  city, 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  267,   268. 


144  John  Knox  [iSS4- 

especially  with  Calvin.  When  these,  however,  ad- 
vised, with  one  consent,  that  he  could  not  refuse 
the  vocation  "unless  he  would  declare  himself 
rebellious  unto  his  God  and  unmerciful  to  his 
country,"  he  prepared  for  his  departure  in  Sep- 
tember of  the  same  year.1  There  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  his  anxiety  to  fulfil  this  vocation  when 
accepted,  or  the  reality  of  his  disappointment 
when,  on  his  arrival  at  Dieppe  in  October,  he 
found  two  discouraging  letters  from  Scotland 
awaiting  him.  These  letters  indicated  that  the 
invitation  received  in  May  had  been  sent  without 
the  concurrence  of  some  of  the  Protestant  leaders ; 
that  fresh  consultations  were  about  to  take  place ; 
and  that  it  would  be  better  for  Knox  to  remain 
meanwhile  where  he  was.2  His  reply  to  these 
communications  will  come  before  us  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter.  Unwilling  to  return  to  Geneva 
so  long  as  it  was  possible  that  he  might  be  re- 
quired in  Scotland,  Knox  remained  at  Dieppe  as 
headquarters  until  the  spring  of  1558.  In  the 
course  of  the  winter  he  paid  a  visit  to  Lyons, 
and  another  to  Rochelle  3 ;  in  both  cases,  doubt- 
less, with  a  view  to  the  propagation  of  Pro- 
testant truth;  and  it  is  interesting  to  find  him, 
in  a  sermon  delivered  in  the  latter  town,  express- 
ing the  confident  hope  that  within  two  or  three 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  268-270. 

2  Ibid.,  i.,  269. 

3  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  260. 


r 

//<  ->4-4 

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r-^  "^-"  >-^v  ■ /— -  &c-**/ 


r 


,     'is?  .1  jl'..-  y      Q ilit. 


ft  5  ■.-/.:..  /..>.-..  ww 


Facsimile  (on  reduced  scale)  of  Knox's  letter  to  Queen  Elizabeth, 
6th  Aug.,  1 561.     (From  the  original  in  the  State  Papers  Office.) 


Reverse  side  of  Knox's  letter  to  Queen  Elizabeth. 


1559] 


On  the  Continent  145 


years  he  would  be  preaching  the  Gospel  publicly 
in  the  Church  of  St.  Giles,  Edinburgh.1 

In  the  interval  between  the  first  and  the  second 
visit  of  Knox  to  Dieppe,  a  Reformed  congrega- 
tion had  been  secretly  formed  in  the  town  through 
the  influence  of  a  Genevan  travelling  merchant, 
Jean  Venable:  and  while  Knox  was  still  there 
Andre  de  Sequeran,  a  gentleman  of  Provence 
recommended  by  Calvin,  acted  as  pastor,  preach- 
ing at  night,  sometimes  in  houses,  sometimes  in 
cellars.2  We  may  be  sure  that  Knox,  who  spoke 
French  fluently,  assisted  in  this  propagation  of  the 
Reformed  faith;  but  his  time  appears  to  have 
been  pretty  fully  occupied  with  literary  work. 
Three  epistles  of  considerable  length,  addressed 
respectively  to  "the  Nobility  in  Scotland"  to  his 
"Brethren  in  Scotland,"  and  to  "the  Lords  and 
others  professing  the  Truth,"  are  dated  from 
Dieppe,  and  belong  to  this  portion  of  the  Reform- 
er's career  3 ;  and  his  prolific  pen  was  occupied 
with  another  subject.  A  few  weeks  before  his 
arrival  in  Dieppe,  a  hundred  and  twenty  Pro- 
testants had  been  consigned  to  dungeons  in  Paris ; 
and  several  of  these  had  been  executed  for  meet- 
ing privately  to  celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper  ac- 
cording to  a  Reformed  ritual.  The  pagan  charges 
of    immorality  against   the    early  Christians,   in 

1  Row,  Historie  of  the  Kirk,  p.  8. 

2  S.  Hardy,  Eglise  Protestante  de  Dieppe,  pp.  36,  37.    (Paris 
1897). 

3Laing,  W.  of  K.,iv.,  261,  275,  286;  Knox,  H.  of  R.,i.,  269. 


146  John  Knox  [i554- 

connexion  with  their  secret  assemblies,  had  been 
reproduced,  and  applied  to  these  Protestants  by 
malignant  Catholics.  In  the  name  of  the  victims 
an  authoritative  "Apology"  was  issued  which 
Knox  translated  into  English.  In  a  preface  of  his 
own  he  attributes  the  vile  calumnies  to  the  Cardi- 
nal of  Lorraine,  the  uncle  of  Mary  Stuart.1 

VII.  The  English  congregation  at  Geneva  had 
meanwhile  become  aware  of  Knox's  position  re- 
garding Scotland ;  at  their  annual  election  on  16th 
December,  he  had  again  been  chosen  as  one  of 
the  pastors;  and  at  some  date  prior  to  the  16th 
March  he  was  once  more  in  Geneva.  There  he 
remained  till  about  the  end  of  January,  1559. 
Two  months  before,  he  had  received  a  fresh 
invitation  to  return  to  Scotland  from  the  leaders 
of  the  Reform  movement,  who  simultaneously 
wrote  to  Calvin  "craving  that  he  would  com- 
mand" Knox  to  revisit  his  native  land.2  If 
previous  experience  might  have  prevented  the  Re- 
former from  responding  to  the  summons  without 
further  enquiry,  his  hesitation  was  removed  by 
the  news  of  Mary  Tudor's  death  on  the  17th 
November,  1558.  The  majority  of  the  Anglo- 
Genevan  congregation  might  be  expected  to  return 
to  England ;  and  Knox's  pastoral  work  would  be 
diminished.  Providence  seemed  to  point  the  way 
back  to  Scotland.     On  the  occasion  of  his  final 


1  Laing,  W .  of  K.,  iv.,  289-347. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  274. 


1559] 


On  the  Continent  H7 


departure  from  Geneva,  he  was  honoured  with  the 
freedom  of  the  city. 

While  Knox,  at  this  juncture,  was  interested 
chiefly  in  his  own  country,  he  was  not  unmind- 
ful of  England.  Soon  after  the  accession  of 
Elizabeth,  he  had  addressed  a  Brief  Exhortation 
to  the  nation  among  whom  he  had  lived  and 
laboured  for  five  years,  urging  them  to  the  speedy 
embracing  of  Christ's  Gospel,  heretofore  "  sup- 
pressed and  banished."  r 

It  was  the  Reformer's  strong  desire  to  visit  his 
English  friends  before  proceeding  to  Scotland.  He 
made  several  attempts  to  procure  permission  to 
pass  through  England  on  the  way  home ;  and  he 
remained  at  Dieppe  (where  he  arrived  on  the  19th 
of  February)  for  over  two  months,  partly,  indeed, 
to  receive  the  latest  information  as  to  the  ecclesi- 
astical situation  in  Scotland,  but  chiefly  in  the 
hope  of  obtaining  a  safe-conduct  from  the  Eng- 
lish Government.2  The  "  Monstrous  Regiment 
of  Women"  barred  the  way.  In  vain  Knox 
assured  the  Queen  of  England,  through  her  minis- 
ter, Cecil,  that  he  was  no  "enemy  to  the  person 
nor  yet  to  the  '  regiment '  of  her  whom  God  hath 
now  promoted";  and  the  work  in  question,  al- 
though the  main  arguments  applied  to  all  female 
government,  had  been  obviously  suggested  by  the 
persecuting    policy  of    Mary  Tudor.      Elizabeth 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  v.,  501. 

2  Ibid.,  vi.,  20. 


148  John  Knox  [i5S4- 

refused  to  admit  within  her  realm,  even  as  a  so- 
journer, a  man  whose  avowed  political  sentiments 
impugned  her  own  right  to  be  on  the  throne  at 
all.  If  Cecil  showed  to  her  Majesty  Knox's  let- 
ter of  explanation,  it  is  not  likely  that  she  would 
be  conciliated  either  by  the  Reformer's  reference 
to  her  accession  as  a  ''miraculous  work  of  God's 
comforting  His  afflicted  by  an  infirm  vessel,"  or 
through  his  counsel  that  "only  humility  and  de- 
jection of  herself  before  God  shall  be  the  firmity 
and  stability  of  her  throne."  ' 

VIII.  The  ten  weeks  which  Knox  spent  on 
this  occasion  at  Dieppe  were  very  far  from  being 
lost  time.  This  last  visit  of  the  Reformer  to 
the  town  constitutes  a  noteworthy  chapter  in  the 
history  of  French  Protestantism.  During  the 
interval  between  his  departure  from  Dieppe  in 
March,  1558,  and  his  return  in  February,  1559, 
the  little  Reformed  congregation  had  been  min- 
istered to  by  various  preachers ;  but  the  services 
had  been  held,  as  formerly,  only  at  night.  Knox 
put  an  end  to  what  he  regarded  as  censurable 
circumspection.2  "Under  his  brief  ministry" — 
so  it  is  testified  in  a  history  written  within  a 
century  of  Knox's  time — "the  number  of  the 
faithful  so  increased  that  they  dared  to  have 
preaching  in  broad  daylight";  and  a  list  of 
prominent  converts  is  given,  including  the  Lieu- 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  19. 

2  Demarquets,  Memoires  Chronologiques,  p.  112. 


i559]  On  the  Continent  149 

tenant-Governor  of  Picardy  and  a  descendant  of 
Charles  Martel,  who  "through  Knox's  instruction 
and  influence  abjured  the  errors  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  and  made  profession  of  the  verity  of  the 
Gospel."  *  Disinterested  testimony,  also,  is  borne 
to  the  Scottish  Reformer's  power  by  a  priest 
of  Dieppe  who,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  on  the  authority  of  old  manuscripts, 
describes  Knox  as  a  "learned  man,"  "vehe- 
mently zealous, "  and  "so  eloquent  that  he  con- 
trolled the  minds  of  men  according  to  his  will."  a 
Shortly  before  his  departure  a  letter  was  addressed 
to  Calvin  by  one  of  the  "  faithful,"  in  the  name  of 
the  Protestant  congregation  at  Dieppe,  requesting 
a  minister  to  be  sent  to  them:  and  this  request 
is  expressly  based  on  the  signal  success  of  "  Master 
John  Knox,  a  singular  instrument  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who,  according  to  the  graces  bountifully 
poured  out  upon  him  by  the  Lord,  has  faithfully 
promoted,  by  his  preaching,  the  glory  of  Christ, 
during  the  short  time  that  it  has  been  in  his  power 
to  have  fellowship  with   us."  3    The  success  of 


1  Histoire  de  la  Reformation  a  Dieppe  par  Guillaume  et  Jean 
Daval  (edited  by  Emile  Lesens),  i.,  10,  n. 

2  Guibert,  Memoires  pour  servir  a  Vhistoire  de  la  Ville  de 
Dieppe,  p.  105. 

3  Calvin,  Opera,  xvii.,  497;  Duval,  i.,  227.  According  to 
an  old  tradition,  Knox  preached  in  the  Chapelle  de  la  Mala- 
drerie  (of  which  some  very  scanty  ruins  remain)  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  the  town.  See  L'abb6  Cochet,  Re  pert, 
archiol.  du  Dep.  de  la  Seine  inf.,  col.  19  (187 1).  It  is  not 
probable,  however,  that  at  so  early  a  stage  any  ecclesiastical 


150  John  Knox  [i554- 

Knox's    ministry    at    Dieppe    was    exhibited   in 
changed  lives  as  well  as  in  Reformed  belief. 

"  At  this  time  God  manifested  wonderfully  the  great 
power  of  the  Word ;  for  those  who  formerly  were  in- 
corrigibly fierce,  and  addicted  to  the  indulgence  of 
their  appetites,  particularly  the  sailors,  became  tract- 
able and  orderly,  abstaining  from  blasphemy,  abhor- 
ring houses  of  ill-fame  and  the  customs  of  the  tavern 
— a  result  which  could  not  have  been  previously 
secured,  whatever  prohibition  might  have  been  issued 
by  the  King,  with  severe  pains  and  penalties."  x 

The  prosperity  of  the  Protestant  community 
at  Dieppe  continued  after  Knox's  departure.  At 
a  celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion,  a  month 
after  the  Reformer  had  left  the  town,  between 
six  and  eight  hundred  persons  took  part,  including 
the  Governor  of  the  Castle  and  some  of  the 
leading  inhabitants.  Ere  long  two  congregations 
were  established;  one  of  these  being  in  the  Rue 
d'Ecosse.  Knox  kept  up,  through  correspond- 
ence, his  connection  with  the  church  which,  at  a 
critical  time,    had   been   so    deeply  indebted   to 

building  would  be  at  the  disposal  of  Protestants,  and  it  is 
more  likely  (as  suggested  to  the  writer  by  M.  Hardy,  the 
Pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church  at  Dieppe,  that  Knox  con- 
ducted service  in  the  house  of  a  wealthy  Protestant  lady, 
called  Helene  Bouchard,  in  whose  dwelling  Jean  Venable 
held  his  meetings  in  1557  (Vitet,  Hist,  des  anc.  villes  de  Fr. 
i.,  97,  98)  (1833).  The  earliest  historical  record  of  any 
church  building  occupied  by  the  Reformed  community  re- 
lates to  the  year  1608. 
1  Duval,  i.,  13. 


Rue  d'Ecosse,  Dieppe. 
(Several  of  the  houses  on  the  right  existed  in  Knox's  time.) 


I559]  On  the  Continent  151 

his  active  zeal:  and  he  wrote  several  " comfort- 
able" letters  to  the  Protestant  membership  en- 
couraging them  to  remain  steadfast  in  the  faith. 
Between  1625  and  1630  the  number  of  adherents 
exceeded  five  thousand.1 

During  his  entire  public  life  Knox  was  resolutely 
opposed  to  a  Scoto-French  Alliance,  which  at  that 
epoch  involved  the  peril,  if  not  the  ruin,  of  the 
Scottish  Reformation.  But  his  brief  yet  effect- 
ive ministry  at  Dieppe  proves  that  the  hardships 
which  he  had  suffered  from  France  detracted  in 
no  degree  from  his  desire  to  devote  freely  to  the 
genuine  service  of  Frenchmen  his  time,  gifts,  and 
strength. 

ADDITIONAL  NOTE  TO  CHAPTER  V 

Knox  on  Predestination 

Predestination  was  a  burning  question  in  Geneva 
during  Knox's  ministry  there.  Shortly  before  his 
settlement  in  the  city,  Castellio,  Professor  of  Greek 
in  Basel  University,  had  published  a  trenchant 
criticism  of  Calvin's  utterances  on  the  subject;  and 
Calvin,  as  well  as  Beza,  had  replied  at  some  length. 
Knox,  as  we  have  seen,  had  benefited  in  earlier  life 
by  the  study  of  Augustine,  whose  predestinarian 
views  he  may  have  imbibed,  even  before  he  came 
under  Calvin's  influence.  In  1557  he  had  already  be- 
gun the  preparation  of  a  treatise  on  a  topic  which  must 
have  been  much  discussed  at  Geneva.2     Meanwhile, 


1  Huraut,  John  Knox,  69;   Guibert,  Memoires,  I.  c. 
3  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  271. 


152  John  Knox  [i554- 

an  able  anonymous  work  by  an  Anabaptist  *  against 
Calvinistic  doctrine  had  been  widely  circulated  in 
England;  and  the  congregation  of  English  exiles 
at  Geneva  received  from  their  brethren  at  home  a 
request  for  a  reply  to  the  work.  Knox  was  selected 
for  this  task;  and  accordingly  his  treatise  took  the 
form  of  "An  Answer  to  a  great  number  of  blas- 
phemous cavillations  written  by  an  Anabaptist  and 
adversary  to  God's  eternal  predestination."  2 

"How  profound  Knox  was  in  Divinity,"  writes 
Calderwood,  "that  work  of  his  on  predestination 
may  give  evidence."  3  If  the  Reformer  cannot  be 
said  to  have  added  much  to  what  "that  singular 
instrument  of  Christ  Jesus,  John  Calvin," 4  had 
already  written,  he  shows  much  acuteness  and  ex- 
pertness  both  in  reasoning  and  in  the  application  of 
Scripture.  He  rejects  the  doctrine  of  opponents, 
that  "the  grace  of  God's  election  is  common  to  all, 
but  that  one  receiveth  it  and  another  receiveth  it 
not."  He  is  not  afraid  to  state  what  Calvin 
himself  called  the  decretum  horribile  of  reprobation 
in  terms  only  a  little  less  stern  than  Calvin  himself. 
"God  in  His  eternal  and  immutable  counsels  hath 
once  decreed  whom  He  would  take  to  salvation  and 
whom  He  would  leave  in  perdition.     Those  whom  He 


*  Probably  Robert  Cooke,  who  held  some  post  about  the 
English  Court  under  Elizabeth  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  v.,  16). 

2  The  work  must  have  been  completed  before  his  de- 
parture, and  left  in  the  hands  of  Whittingham  who  superin- 
tended the  "imprinting."  It  extends  to  450  pages  in 
ibid.,  v. 

3  H.  of  the  K.,  viii.,  29. 

4  So  Knox  calls  him  in  the  treatise  (Laing,  v.,  160). 


1559]  On  the  Continent  153 

elected  to  salvation,  He  receiveth  of  free  mercy  with- 
out all  respect  had  to  their  own  merits  and  dignity; 
and  them  in  time  He  calleth  of  purpose,  who,  as  His 
sheep,  hear  His  voice.  But  to  those  whom  He  hath 
decreed  to  leave  in  perdition,  is  so  shut  up  the  entry 
of  life,  that  either  they  are  left  continually  corrupted 
in  their  blindness,  or  else,  if  grace  be  offered,  by  them 
it  is  oppugned  and  obstinately  resisted."  l 

Like  Calvin,  Knox  argues  for  this  twofold  predes- 
tination not  only  from  Scripture  (particularly  from 
Romans  ix.),  but  from  the  analogies  of  nature,  which 
constantly  elects  and  reprobates,  and  from  the  spirit- 
ual "necessity"  of  predestinarian  doctrine,  "to  beat 
down  all  pride,"  that  "man  may  be  brought  to  true 
humility,"  and  be  "moved  to  praise  God  for  His  free 
grace  received."  2  With  Calvin, also,  Knox  repudiates, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  notion  that  "God  without  just 
causes  doth  make  any  man  to  destruction,"  (these 
just  causes,  however,  being  admitted  to  be  "incom- 
prehensible to  man"  3;)  while,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
magnifies  the  divine  sovereignty.  The  Calvinistic 
obscuration  of  God's  fatherly  relation  to  all  man- 
kind, is  reproduced  in  such  words  as  these:  "You 
make  the  love  of  God  common  to  all  men ;  and  that 
do '  we  constantly  deny,  and  say  that  before  all 
beginning  God  hath  loved  His  elect."  4  He  em- 
phasises the  divine  prescience:  "all  things  have 
ever  been  before  His  eyes;  so  that  to  His  eternal 
knowledge  nothing  is  by  past,  nothing  to  come;   all 


1  Laing,  v 

.,  42. 

2  Ibid.,  v., 

27,  76. 

3  Ibid.,  v., 

160. 

4  Ibid.,  v., 

61. 

i54  John  Knox  la- 

things are  present"  *;  but  he  fails,  like  his  Genevan 
master,  to  realise  that  the  truth,  "God  willeth  all 
men  to  be  saved,"  is  no  less  clearly  revealed;  and  that 
we  have  no  more  right  to  build  upon  the  divine  fore- 
knowledge an  eternal  purpose  of  reprobation,  than 
to  build  upon  God's  desire  for  universal  human 
salvation  the  assurance  that  under  an  omnipotent 
government  all  will  actually  be  saved. 

Three  things  are  noteworthy  about  Knox's  treatise: 
i.  His  scrupulous  care  to  state  his  adversary's  argu- 
ments at  full  length  and  in  his  (the  adversary's)  own 
words.  2.  Amid  censurable  denunciations  of  his 
opponent's  "profane  subtlety,"  "impudent  blasphe- 
my," and  "malicious  lies,"  he  displays  a  touching 
anxiety  for  his  illumination.  "God  open  your  eyes 
that  ye  may  see  the  light!"  he  exclaims;  and 
solemnly  assures  him,  "I  take  to  record  the  Lord 
Jesus  that  I  would  bestow  my  own  life,  to  join  you 
fully  to  Jesus  Christ."  2  3.  When  Knox  leaves  the 
arena  of  theological  controversy  for  the  yet  more 
responsible  work  of  drawing  up  a  Confession  of 
Faith  for  the  Church,  predestination  doctrine  recedes 
into  the  background ;  for  in  the  Confession  drawn  up 
in  1560,  at  the  very  time  when  his  treatise  was 
being  published  at  Geneva,  the  word  "  predestina- 
tion "  never  occurs;  and  the  statement  about 
election  is  so  brief  and  general  that  Arminians, 
afterwards,  could  have  cordially  accepted  it.  "The 
same  eternal  God  and  Father,  who  of  mere  mercy 
elected  us  in  Christ  Jesus  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world  was  laid,  appointed  him  to  be  our  Head,  our 

1  Laing,  v.,  35. 

2  Ibid.,  v.,  247. 


i559]  On  the  Continent  155 

Brother,  our  Pastor  and  great  Bishop  of  our  souls 
.  .  .  giving  power  to  so  many  as  believe  in  Him 
to  be  the  sons  of  God."  "  Calvin  himself,  in  one  of 
his  commentaries,  when  the  influence  of  Holy  Writ  is 
greater  than  that  of  reason  upon  his  mind,  confesses 
that  "predestination  is  a  labyrinth  from  which  the 
mind  of  man  can  by  no  means  extricate  itself."  2  In 
their  less  argumentative  moods  both  he  and  Knox 
might  have  adopted  Dante's  memorable  words: 

"O  how  far  removed 
Predestination!  is  thy  root  from  such 
As  see  not  the  First  Cause  entire ;  and  ye, 
O  mortal  men,  be  wary  how  ye  judge."  3 


1  Chap,  viii.,  in  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  ii.,  ioo.  It  is  possible,  of 
course,  that  the  article  on  Election  may  have  been  modified 
in  revision  by  Knox's  five  colleagues  to  whom  the  first  draft 
(composed  by  him)  was  submitted  (Ibid.,  vi.,  120,  121);  but 
in  any  case  Knox  endorsed  the  moderate  statement  above 
quoted. 

2  Calvin  on  Rom.  ix.,  14. 

3  Par ad.,  xx.,  130  //.      (Cary's  Translation). 


CHAPTER  VI 


KNOX'S    FIRST    RETURN   TO    SCOTLAND 


1555-1556 

IN  the  first  year  of  Knox's  residence  on  the 
Continent,  the  Scottish  Reformation  received 
a  stimulus  from  two  events  which  might  have  ap- 
peared likely  to  operate  in  a  contrary  direction. 

I.  One  of  these  events  was  the  appointment 
in  1554  of  the  Queen  Dowager,  Mary  of  Guise, 
to  the  regency.  Her  brothers,  the  Cardinal  of 
Lorraine  and  the  Duke  of  Guise,  were  leading 
opponents  of  Protestantism  in  France,  and  Mary 
herself  was  a  thorough  Romanist.  Fortunately 
for  Scotland  and  for  the  Reformation,  she  was 
also  a  keen  politician  and  an  ambitious  mother. 
For  years  she  had  aimed  at  supplanting  the  Earl 
of  Arran,  who  had  held  the  regency  since  her  hus- 
band's death.  To  accomplish  this  purpose  she 
privately  befriended  prominent  Protestants,  and 
thus  established  a  personal  influence  among  the 
Scottish  aristocracy.  When  at  length,  in  April, 
1554,  she  had  attained  her  end,  after  Arran's 
abdication,  she  continued  by  a  tolerant  ecclesias- 

156 


ISS5-ISS6]  First  Return  to  Scotland        157 

tical  attitude  to  ingratiate  herself  with  influential 
Reformers,  in  order  to  disarm  opposition  to 
another  cardinal  aim  of  her  life — the  mar- 
riage of  her  daughter,  Mary  Stuart,  to  the 
Dauphin  of  France.1  The  policy  of  conciliation, 
thus  adopted  by  the  head  of  the  State,  was  not 
opposed  meanwhile  to  any  policy  of  severe  perse- 
cution by  the  head  of  the  Church.  Archbishop 
Hamilton  was  neither  a  bigoted  nor  a  sanguinary 
ecclesiastic.  He  realised  the  necessity  of  some 
kind  of  reformation.  He  endeavoured  to  lessen 
priestly  ignorance  and  incompetence  by  the  pub- 
lication of  a  Catechism  remarkable  for  moderate 
doctrine  as  well  as  non-controversial  tone  2  ;  and 
he  procured  the  enactment  of  statutes  against 
clerical  immorality — statutes,  however,  which,  in 
spite  of  his  early  reputation  as  "chaster  than 
any  maiden,"  he  could  not  enforce  without  con- 
demning himself.3     While  his  policy  as  regards 

1  Buchanan,  H.  of  Sc.,xvi. ;  Lesley,  (vernac.)  H.  of  Sc, 
234,  244-247;  Hume  Brown,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  36-38;  Mathieson, 
Politics  and  Religion  in  Scotland,  1550-15Q5,  i.,  40-44. 
Hamilton  was  partly  constrained  to  resign  the  regency  by 
the  nobility  whom  Mary  of  Guise  won  over  to  her  side,  and 
partly  bribed  by  the  dukedom  of  Chatelherault,  and  the  pay- 
ment of  his  large  debts. 

2  While  distinctly  Roman  in  doctrine,  the  Catechism  is 
silent  as  to  papal  supremacy,  ignores  the  indulgence  system, 
refrains  from  forbidding  or  even  discouraging  the  reading  of 
vernacular  Scripture  by  the  laity,  and  describes  love  and 
good  works,  in  accordance  with  evangelical  theology,  as  the 
fruit  of  faith  rather  than  an  independent  addition  to  faith. 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  124. 


158  John  Knox  [,sss- 

Protestantism  was  of  necessity  so  far  repressive,1  it 
is  significant  that  between  his  appointment  to  the 
primacy  in  1546  and  Knox's  return  to  Scotland  in 
1555,  only  one  person  in  Scotland  suffered  martyr- 
dom— Adam  Wallace,  a  layman  of  Ayrshire,  and 
Knox's  successor  in  1550  as  tutor  at  Ormiston.2 
This  comparative  toleration  in  which  Regent  and 
Primate,  from  somewhat  different  motives,3  con- 
curred, issued  naturally  in  numerous  accessions  to 
the  Reform  party  from  those  whom  fear  had 
hitherto  restrained  from  publicly  professing  their 
faith. 

A  further  stimulus  of  a  different  kind  was  sup- 
plied to  the  Reformation  in  Scotland  by  the  en- 
trance of  the  English  Queen,  a  year  after  her 
accession,  on  that  policy  of  truculent  persecution 
which  has  branded  her  character  indelibly  as 
"Bloody  Mary."  Under  the  Protestant  rule  of 
Edward  VI.,  numerous  Scots,  zealous  for  Reform, 
had  been  attracted  to  the  southern  kingdom. 
Some  of  these  naturally  returned  home  when  the 
conflict  became  fiercer  in  England  than  in 
Scotland.     Knox  mentions  particularly  William 


xSee  Chap.  IV.,  note  6. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  237;  Foxe,  v.,  636-641.  Knox  de- 
scribes Wallace  as  "  a  simple  man  without  great  learning,  but 
zealous  of  godliness,  and  of  an  upright  life."  His  martyr- 
dom took  place  in  July,  1550. 

3  The  Primate  had  no  desire  to  expedite  the  marriage  of 
Mary  Stuart,  since,  failing  issue  from  it,  his  own  brother  was 
heir  to  the  throne. 


i5S6]        First  Return  to  Scotland         159 

Harlaw  and  John  Willock  as  among  the  "godly" 
men  who  at  this  period  came  back  to  their  native 
land  for  the  instruction  of  the  people  and  the 
strengthening  of  the  Protestant  cause.1 

II.  About  the  end  of  September,  1555,  Knox 
himself  arrived  in  Edinburgh.  He  preached 
there,  privately  at  first,  in  the  house  of  his  host, 
James  Sym,  a  "notable  man  of  God."  2  But  his 
return  soon  became  known  to  the  Reforming 
leaders,  and  under  their  auspices  almost  the  entire 
winter  and  spring  of  1555-56  were  spent  by  him 
in  evangelistic  expeditions.  Before  he  commenced 
his  labours,  however,  there  was  one  point  on 
which  he  was  anxious  to  have  a  decision. 
Among  the  memorable  acts  of  his  short  minis- 
try at  St.  Andrews  in  1547  had  been  the  open 
celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  accordance 
with  Reformed  doctrine  and  ritual.  During 
the  intervening  eight  years  this  example  had 
not  been  widely  imitated;  and  he  found,  on  his 
return  to  Scotland,  that  many  Protestant  lead- 
ers and  a  large  proportion  of  their  followers  still 
attended  mass.  Knox  protested  against  such  con- 
formity as  a  sinful  countenance  of  deadly  error. 


XH.  of  R.,  i.,  245.  Harlaw  was  originally  a  tailor  in  Edin- 
burgh; at  the  Reformation,  he  became  minister  to  St.  Cuth- 
bert's  Church  in  that  city.  As  to  Willock,  seep.  93.  Among 
others  were  Paul  Methven,  of  Dundee,  and  a  Carmelite  friar, 
named  Douglas,  who  became  chaplain  to  the  Earl  of  Argyle. 
See  Bellesheim,  Cath.  Ch.  of  Scot.,  ii.,  220. 

3  H.  of  R.,  i.,  246.     See  Chap.  V.,  p.  133. 


160  John  Knox  [i55S- 

A  private  conference  was  held  in  Edinburgh 
at  the  house  of  John  Erskine  of  Dun  to  dis- 
cuss the  question.  There  were  present,  be- 
sides the  Reformer  and  Erskine  himself,  John 
Willock,  the  preacher;  David  Forres,  of  Had- 
dington, Master  of  the  Mint,  a  friend  of  Wish- 
art;  Robert  Lockhart,  a  lay  "  exhort  er";  and 
William  Maitland  of  Lethington,  a  man,  as  Knox 
testifies,  "of  good  learning,  and  of  sharp  wit 
and  reasoning."  Knox  opened  discussion  with 
the  contention  that  it  was  "no  wise  lawful 
to  a  Christian  to  present  himself  to  that  idol ' ' ; 
while  the  usage  was  defended  by  Maitland,  whom 
the  Reformer,  long  afterwards  on  his  own  death- 
bed, denounced  for  "carnal  prudence  otherwise 
manifested."  "Nothing,"  writes  Knox,  "was 
omitted  that  might  make  for  the  temporiser." 
The  example  of  St.  Paul  at  Jerusalem  was 
quoted,  when  he  identified  himself  with  certain 
Jews  in  a  Levitical  observance.  But  the  Re- 
former had  no  difficulty  in  shewing  that  the  two 
cases  were  not  parallel.  St.  Paul  at  most  counte- 
nanced a  practice  which  was  abrogated  for 
Christians,  but  had  been  prescribed  for  Jews. 
Moreover,  it  was  very  doubtful  whether  in  this 
instance  St.  Paul  and  St.  James  had  acted 
rightly.  Eventually  it  was  admitted,  according 
to  Knox,  by  all  present,  that  their  "shifts  served 
nothing ' ' ;  and  it  was  resolved  henceforth  to  meet 
as    Reformed    congregations    for   separate   com- 


I556]         First  Return  to  Scotland         161 

munion.1  The  decision  was  signal.  It  was  an 
act  of  ecclesiastical  schism,  justifiable,  at  this 
early  stage,  only  on  the  ground  that  the  mass, 
as  a  breach  of  the  Second  Commandment,  was 
not  a  mere  imperfect  mode  of  worship,  but  a 
positive  sin.  Strategically  the  new  departure  was 
a  distinct  gain  to  the  Reform  party  in  their  con- 
flict. By  this  significant  step  the  Protestants  in 
Scotland  acquired  courage  and  consolidation. 
Those  who  were  in  earnest  about  the  Reforma- 
tion became  better  known  to  each  other,  and 
had  fuller  opportunity  of  mutual  support :  the 
organisation  of  the  Reformed  Scottish  Church 
had  begun. 

III.  The  question  of  attendance  at  mass  hav- 
ing thus  been  settled  to  his  satisfaction,  Knox 
devoted  himself  with  all  his  strength  to  the  work 
of  propagating  evangelical  truth.  He  proceeded 
first  to  Forfarshire,  where  the  memory  of  Wishart 
was  still  fresh.  He  resided  for  a  month  with 
Erskine  at  Dun,2  preaching  daily  to  congregations 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  247-249. 

2  Ibid.,  i.,  249.  Erskine  had  been  "marvellously  illumined" 
more  than  twenty  years  before;  had  been  the  friend  of 
Straiton  of  Lauriston,  who  suffered  martyrdom  in  1534;  and 
had  afterwards  been  a  sympathetic  supporter  of  George 
Wishart  (ibid.,  i.,  132).  He  was  one  of  those  Reform- 
ers who  were  equally  zealous  against  English  aggression 
and  against  Roman  error;  for  he  distinguished  himself  in 
the  war  of  defence  in  1548-49,  and  he  was  highly  esteemed 
and  trusted  by  the  Regent  Mary  (ibid.,  i.,  318;  Spalding  Mis- 
cellany, iv.,  48,  49,  51).      Knox  describes  him  as  "most  gentle 


162  John  Knox  [i555- 

which  included  the  "  principal  men  of  the  county." 
We  find  him  afterwards  in  Linlithgowshire, 
under  the  protection  of  Sir  James  Sandilands 
of  Calder,  reviving  the  memories  of  Patrick 
Hamilton,  and  reiterating  the  truths  for  which  the 
Proto-martyr ' '  suffered.  During  his  residence  in 
that  county,  he  had  as  listeners  to  his  preaching 
three  young  noblemen  who  became  prominent  in 
the  history  of  the  Reformation — Archibald  Lord 
Lome,  afterwards  fifth  Earl  of  Argyle ;  Lord  James 
Stuart,  a  natural  son  of  James  V.,  eventually  the 
"Good  Regent"  Moray;  and  Lord  Erskine,  sub- 
sequently sixth  Earl  of  Mar,  Governor  of  Edin- 
burgh Castle,  and  ultimately  Moray's  successor 
(after  a  brief  interval)  in  the  regency.  In  Decem- 
ber Knox  "  taught  commonly  in  Edinburgh"  ;  but 
after  Christmas  he  again  travelled  from  place  to 
place.  He  preached  and  administered  the  Holy 
Communion  in  various  parishes  of  Ayrshire; 
among  other  places  in  the  ancient  town  of  Ayr; 
in  Mauchline,  where  he  had  the  staunch  sup- 
port of  Robert  Campbell  of  Kinyeancleuch,  whose 
father  in  like  manner  had  stood  by  Wishart ;  and 

of  nature."  Buchanan  speaks  of  him  as  "equally  pious  and 
cultured."  After  the  Reformation,  he  was  ordained  to  the 
ministry,  and  became  Superintendent  of  Angus  and  Mearns. 
Specimens  of  his  discourses  (S.  M.,  iv.,  101,  112)  show  him 
to  have  been  a  preacher  who  united  effectiveness  with  charity. 
Queen  Mary  is  recorded  (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  482)  to  have  said 
that  she  "would  gladly  hear  [preaching]  the  Superintendent 
of  Angus;  for  he  was  a  mild  and  sweet-natured  man  with 
true  honesty  and  uprightness." 


iS56]         First  Return  to  Scotland         163 

in  the  House  of  Ochiltree,  where  he  must  have 
seen  the  maiden  who  eight  years  later  became  his 
second  wife.  In  the  spring  of  1556  the  Reformer 
was  at  Kilmacolm  on  the  Clyde,  by  the  invitation 
of  Lord  Glencairn,  whose  residence,  Finlayston, 
was  in  that  parish ;  the  silver  cups  used  on  that 
occasion  at  the  Communion  are  still  preserved.1 
A  second  visit  to  Calder  in  West  Lothian  and 
another  to  Dun,  completed  his  journeyings  up 
till  the  early  part  of  May.2  The  welcome  which 
the  preaching  of  Reformed  doctrine  had  received 
from  the  people  during  Knox's  evangelistic  tour 
far  surpassed  his  expectations.  "  If  I  had  not 
seen  it  with  my  own  eyes,"  so  he  writes  to  Mrs. 
Bowes,  "I  could  not  have  believed  it."  "The 
fervency  here  doth  far  exceed  all  others  that  I 
have  seen,"  he  continues;  and  he  frankly  con- 
fesses that  it  constrained  him  to  condemn  his  own 
"slothful  coldness."  3 

IV.  The  success  of  "that  knave  Knox,"  as 
one  of  the  bishops  called  him,4  alarmed  the  hier- 
archy; and  the  new  practice  of  Protestant  ab- 
stention from  mass  revealed  the  magnitude 
of  the  ecclesiastical  secession  which  was  being 
consolidated  into  a  rival  church.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  take  steps  to  get  rid  of  the  man  whom  all 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,l,  250  (Laing's  Note). 

2  Ibid.,  i.,  249,  250. 

3  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  217,  218. 

4  Ibid.,  iv.,  439.  From  the  context  the  bishop  appears  to 
have  been  James  Beaton  of  Glasgow. 


164  John  Knox  [ISSS- 

regarded  as  the  origo  mali.  The  laws  against 
heresy  were  still  unrepealed;  although,  since 
the  change  in  the  regency,  they  had  no  longer 
been  enforced.  While  Knox  was  still  the  guest 
of  Erskine  at  Dun  he  received  a  citation  to  trial 
before  an  ecclesiastical  court  at  Blackfriars' 
Church,  Edinburgh,  on  the  15th  of  May.1  The 
object  of  the  bishops  was  probably  the  same  as 
that  of  Primate  James  Beaton,  thirty  years  be- 
fore, when  he  sent  a  similar  citation  to  Patrick 
Hamilton — to  drive  an  inconvenient  intruder  out 
of  the  way.  As  their  procedure  was  unsupported 
by  the  Regent,  the  flight  of  Knox  from  Scotland 
was  the  issue  which  probably  they  most  desired. 
They  mistook  their  man:  Knox  arrived,  openly, 
in  Edinburgh,  accompanied  by  Erskine  and  other 
gentlemen,  a  few  days  before  the  date  fixed  for 
his  "  compearance."  The  discomfited  bishops  de- 
parted from  the  trial,  either,  as  Knox  suggests,  on 
the  ground  of  some  "informality  in  their  own 
proceedings,"  or  because  "they  feared  danger  to 
ensue."  The  fiasco  was*  an  admirable  adver- 
tisement. On  the  very  day  on  which  he  was 
to  have  been  tried  the  Reformer  preached  to 
a  larger  audience  than  ever  had  listened  to  him 
in  the  city  before;  and,  emboldened  by  non- 
interference, he  continued  to  preach  for  ten  days 
in  succession.2     Such  a  triumph  was  enough  to 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  251. 

2  Ibid.,  i.,  251. 


I556]         First  Return  to  Scotland         165 

exhilarate  a  much  less  ardent  nature  than  that  of 
Knox. 

"Rejoice  mother" — so  he  writes  to  Mrs.  Bowes 
after  three  days'  ministrations — "the  time  of  our 
deliverance  appro  acheth.  The  trumpet  blew  the  old 
sound  three  days  together,  till  private  houses  of 
indifferent  largeness  could  not  contain  the  voice  of  it. 
Sweet  were  the  death  that  should  follow  forty  such 
days  in  Edinburgh  as  I  have  had  three."  x 

V.  Success  fosters  ambition.  Knox  had  evan- 
gelised a  large  portion  of  the  people;  he  had 
fortified  the  Reforming  nobility  and  gentry;  the 
Protestant  party  had  been  transformed  into  a 
Church;  the  hierarchy  had  been  constrained  to 
cower  in  the  conflict  and  to  beat  a  humiliating 
retreat.  Not  content  with  these  triumphs,  the 
Reformer  was  bold  enough  to  essay  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Regent  herself.  One  recalls  the  jour- 
ney of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  to  Egypt  for  the 
conversion  of  the  Mohammedan  Sultan.  The  sug- 
gestion of  the  attempt  is  ascribed  by  Knox  to 
two  distinguished  adherents  of  the  Reformation 
— Earl  Marischal  and  Henry  Drummond  of  Rick- 
arton  in  West  Lothian,  who  had  been  listening 
just  before  to  one  of  his  "exhortations."  The 
promptness,  however,  with  which  he  appears  to 
have  accepted  the  proposal,  and  the  extreme  care 
with  which  he  carried  it  out,  indicate  that  the  idea 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  218. 


166  John  Knox  [I555- 

had  already  occurred  to  himself,  and  had  proba- 
bly been  put  into  the  minds  of  these  two  noble- 
men through  some  pulpit  reference  to  the  Regent.1 
He  wrote  a  long  and  elaborate  letter  "to  the 
excellent  Lady  Mary,  Regent  of  Scotland,"  and 
caused  it  to  be  delivered  by  the  friendly  hand  of 
Glencairn.  His  First  Blast  against  the  Monstrous 
Regiment  of  Women  had  not  yet  been  blown  or 
even  prepared  for  issue ;  the  Reformer,  so  far  as  we 
know,  was  still  in  his  attitude  of  an  enquirer  as  to 
"  whether  a  female  can  preside  over  and  rule  a  king- 
dom. "  The  epistle,  coming  from  a  plain-spoken 
man  like  Knox,  is  a  marvel  of  moderation  and  gen- 
tleness, yet  without  any  palpable  deviation  from 
sincerity.  Compared  with  his  usual  trenchant  style 
of  writing,  the  composition  is  like  the  coo  of  the 
dove  after  the  roar  of  the  lion .  He  calls  himself  the 
Regent's  "humble  subject,"  and  wishes  "mercy 
and  peace"  for  her.  He  blesses  God  "who  by 
the  dew  of  his  heavenly  grace  hath  so  quenched 
the  fire  of  displeasure  in  your  Grace's  heart, 
which  is  to  my  heart  no  small  comfort" ;  and  he 
rejoices  in  the  "moderation  and  clemency  that 
your  Grace  hath  begun  toward  me  and  my  most 
desperate  cause."  He  assures  her,  if  she  "con- 
tinue in  like  moderation  and  clemency  toward 
others,  and  by  godly  wisdom  bridle  the  fury  and 
rage  of  them  who  regard  not  the  cruel  murdering 
of  simple  innocents,"  that  "then  shall  He  who 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  252. 


1556]         First  Return  to  Scotland  167 

pronounceth  mercy  to  appertain  to  the  merciful 
first  cause  your  happy  government  to  be  praised 
in  this  present  age  and  the  posterities  to  come, 
and  last,  recompense  your  godly  pains  and  study 
with  that  joy  and  glory  which  the  eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  yet  can  enter  into  the  heart  of  mortal 
creature."     It  may  "appear  foolish  to  many,"  he 
continues,  that  he,  "a  worm  most  wretched,  a 
man  of  base  state  and  condition,  dare  enterprise 
or  admonish  a  Princess  so  honourable,  endowed 
with  wisdom  and  graces  singularly."     But  he  has 
"thought  it  some  discharge  of  a  part  of  my  duty, 
if  I  of  very  love  admonish  your  Grace  of  danger," 
"preferring  your  Grace's  salvation  and  the  salva- 
tion of  the  people  now  committed  to  your  care 
before  any  corporal  benefit  to  myself" ;  and  feel- 
ing "if  I  should  hide  it  from  your  Grace,  I  com- 
mitted no  less  treason  than   if    I    saw   you   by 
imprudency  take  a  cup  which  I  knew  to  be  poi- 
soned, and  yet  would  not  admonish  you  to  abstain 
from  drinking  the  same."     He  then  proceeds  to 
emphasise  the  responsibility  of  rulers  as  well  as 
bishops  for  the  maintenance  of  true  and  pure 
religion;   and  shows  that  a  form  of  "religion  uni- 
versally received"  may  none  the  less  be  "damn- 
able and  corrupted."     Knox  cordially  admits  that 
her  Grace  "cannot  hastily  abolish  all  superstition, 
neither  yet  remove  from  office  unprofitable  pastors 
which  only  feed  themselves";   but  this  need  not 
prevent  her  from  ' '  doing  what "  she  "  may ' ' ;  from 


1 68  John  Knox  [iSS5- 

"  studying  with  all  careful  diligence  how  the  true 
worshipping  of  God  may  be  promoted,"  and  how 
"the  tyranny  of  ungodly  men  may  be  repressed." 
With  that  view  he  warns  the  Regent  not  to  be  "led 
away  with  that  vain  opinion  that  your  Kirk  and 
your  prelates  cannot  err ' ' ;  and  he  bids  her  rather 
"lay  the  book  of  God  before  your  eyes,  and  let  it 
be  a  judge  to  their  lives,  doctrine,  and  manners, 
as  also  to  that  doctrine  which  by  fire  and  sword 
most  cruelly  they  persecute."  T 

Knox  had  not  correctly  diagnosed  the  disposi- 
tion and  policy  of  Mary  of  Guise.  Her  benevolent 
patronage,  meanwhile,  of  Protestants  was  due,  not 
to  any  real  sympathy  with  their  position,  but  to 
that  statecraft  which  (along  with  some  "graces" 
of  character,  as  Knox  avows)  she  shared  with 
other  members  of  her  distinguished  family.  She 
read  the  letter, — so  Knox  was  assured, — but  it 
produced  no  impression  either  in  the  way  of 
conviction  or  of  irritation;  for  a  day  or  two 
afterwards  she  handed  it  to  Archbishop  Beaton 
with  the  remark,  "  Please  you,  my  Lord,  to  read  a 
pasquil."  2  Knox,  like  most  other  men,  disliked 
to  be  laughed  at  even  more  than  to  be  persecuted. 
He  printed  his  letter  soon  after  it  was  sent,  just 
as  it  reached  the  Regent's  hands;  and  neither 
friend  nor  foe  at  the  time  informed  him  of  the 
scornful  reception  which  it  had  met ;  but  two  years 


JThe  letter  is  contained  in  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  73-84. 
2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  252. 

r 


1556]         First  Return  to  Scotland  169 

later,  when  the  Regent's  "supercilious  mockery" 
had  been  reported  to  him,  he  showed  his  natural 
irritation  by  a  reprint  of  the  letter  "now  aug- 
mented and  explained."  Never  did  the  second 
edition  of  a  publication  differ  so  widely  from  the 
first.  The  original  matter  is  all  retained,  but" 
its  marked  moderation  serves  only,  by  sharp  con- 
trast, to  emphasise  the  plain-spoken  severity  of 
the  "  additions"  and  explanations.  "  My  duty  to 
God,"  he  now  writes,  "has  compelled  me  to  say 
that  if  no  more  ye  esteem  the  admonition  of  God 
than  the  Cardinals  do  the  scoffing  of  pasquils,  then 
He  shall  shortly  send  you  messengers  with  whom 
ye  shall  not  be  able  in  that  manner  to  jest."  He 
now  denounces  the  Regent's  own  "avarice  and 
cruelty,"  as  well  as  the  "  superstition  and  idolatry 
which  she  had  maintained."  The  First  Blast  had 
in  the  interval  been  sent  forth.  Knox  does  not 
hesitate  to  apply  to  Mary  of  Guise  some  passages  in 
that  work  which  had  been  originally  intended  for 
Mary  Tudor;  and  with  a  presumption,  it  must  be 
admitted,  which  strength  of  conviction  and  the 
provocation  of  a  recent  martyrdom  l  may  account 
for,  but  cannot  justify,  he  attributes  the  Regent's 
loss  of  husband  and  of  sons  to  her  "maintenance 
and  defence  of  most  horrible  idolatry,  with  the 
shedding  of  the  blood  of  the  saints  of  God."  2 
VI.    The  letter  to  Mary  of  Guise  was  not  the  only 

1  That  of  Walter  Milne  in  April,  1558.     See  pp.  183-185. 
aLaing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  450,  453,  454,  458. 


i7°  John  Knox  [I555- 

instance  of  Knox's  literary  activity  during  this 
visit  to  Scotland;  although  his  evangelistic  la- 
bours were  so  multiplied  and  (as  he  expresses  it) 
"Satan  did  so  hunt  me,"  that  "small  space  was 
granted  to  writing."  »  At  the  request  of  some 
who  being  "before  in  great  anguish  did  confess 
themselves  somewhat  reclaimed  by  the  doctrine," 
he  committed  to  writing  the  substance  of  a 
discourse  on  the  "Temptation  of  Christ  in  the 
Wilderness."  2  The  most  notable  point  in  this 
treatise  is  his  argument  against  the  forty  days' 
fast  of  our  Lord  being  regarded  as  an  authority 
for  the  institution  of  Lent,  which  he  calls  a  "  super- 
stitious fasting."  Even  if  we  knew  the  exact 
time  of  the  year  when  Christ  fasted,  "  Am  I,  or  [is] 
any  Christian  bound,"  he  asks,  "to  counterfeit  His 
actions,  as  the  ape  counterfeiteth  the  act  of  man  ? ' ' 
Christ  fasted  forty  days  when  He  was  about  to 
"take  upon  Him  openly"  His  ministry,  not  to 
constrain  us  to  follow  literally  His  example,  but 
"to  teach  us  with  what  fear,  carefulness,  and 
reverence  ought  the  messengers  of  the  Word  to 
enter  on  the  vocation." 

To  this  period  also  belong,  apparently,  the  Re- 
former's Answers  to  some  Questions  concerning 
Baptism.3  The  small  number  of  Reformed  minis- 
ters in  Scotland  had  caused  many  Protestants  to 


1  Letter  to  Mrs.  Locke,  in  Laing,  iv.,  240. 

2  Laing,  iv.,  87-114. 
3 Ibid.,  iv.,  116-140. 


i5S6]         First  Return  to  Scotland         171 

ask  whether  they  might  "offer  their  children  to  the 
papistical  baptism. ' '  Knox  answers  without  hesi- 
tation ,  No .  The  ceremonial  of  baptism ' '  now  used 
in  the  papistry  is  an  adulteration  and  a  profana- 
tion," and  "whosoever  communicateth  with  the 
papistical  sacraments  approveth  before  the  world 
whatsoever  doctrine  and  religion  they  [the  Roman- 
ists] profess."  On  the  other  hand,  he  gives  a 
negative  reply  with  equal  distinctness  to  the  fur- 
ther question,  "Shall  we  be  baptised  again  that 
in  our  infancy  were  polluted  with  that  adulterous 
sign?"  "The  fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  he  de- 
clares, "hath  burnt  away  whatsoever  we  received 
besides  Christ  Jesus'  simple  institution";  and 
"the  Spirit  of  Christ,  illuminating  our  hearts, 
maketh  the  effect  of  that  sacrament  to  work  in  us 
without  any  iteration  of  the  external  sign." 

About  midsummer,  1556,  Knox  received  from 
his  congregation  at  Geneva  a  letter,  somewhat  in- 
considerately yet  not  unnaturally  peremptory, 
"  commanding  him  in  God's  name,  as  their  chosen 
pastor  to  repair  unto  them  for  their  comfort." 
Knox  discerned  in  this  summons  a  providential  call 
and  before  the  end  of  July  he  had  left  Scotland 
for  Geneva.1  Tytler,  followed  by  some  other 
historians,2  charges  Knox  with  "  want  of  courage" 
in  thus  "retreating"  before  danger.  But  surely 
his  bold  defiance  of  the  hierarchy  in  Edinburgh, 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  252,  253. 

2  Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  vi.,  94;  Comp.  Bellesheim,  Cath.  Ch. 
of  Sc.,  ii.,  227-228;   Stephen,  H.  of  Sc.  Ch.,  i.,  548. 


l72  John  Knox  [ISSS_ 

only  two  months  before,  indicates  that  cowardice 
could  not  have  caused  his  departure.  Apart  from 
the  claim  which  the  congregation  of  Geneva  had 
upon  his  services,  there  was  some  reason  for  be- 
lieving that  in  existing  circumstances  the  absence 
of  Knox  for  a  season  from  Scotland  might  be  of 
more  service  to  the  Protestant  cause  than  his 
presence.  His  visit  of  nine  months  had,  indeed, 
been  a  conspicuous  success,  especially  as  a  stimu- 
lating tonic  to  those  who  favoured  the  Refor- 
mation ;  but  the  excessive  administration  of  tonics 
is  not  wholesome  in  the  moral  any  more  than  in 
the  physical  sphere.  A  period,  of  quiet  natural 
development,  under  the  consolidating  influence 
of  Knox's  recent  ministration,  and  amid  the 
practical  toleration  of  the  Regent's  government, 
probably  appeared  at  this  stage  to  be  desirable. 
With  that  view  it  was  not  expedient  to  drive  the 
hierarchy,  as  Knox's  continued  presence  was  likely 
to  do,  into  an  attempted  renewal  of  sharp  persecu- 
tion. Such  an  attempt  would  force  upon  the 
Regent  the  alternative  of  alliance  with  the  prelates 
or  of  more  active  resistance  to  their  policy ;  and 
in  the  probable  event  of  her  adopting  the  former 
course  as  on  the  whole  less  dangerous  and  less 
disagreeable,  a  premature  conflict  would  be  precipi- 
tated which  the  Protestant  party  were  not  yet 
strong  enough  to  face.  In  any  case  Knox's  with- 
drawal from  Scotland  was  in  no  sense  a  flight. 
It  was  neither  secret  nor  hurried:   the  hierarchy 


iS56]         First  Return  to  Scotland  173 

had  abundant  time  for  renewing  their  citation  and 
arresting  the  Reformer.  Before  his  departure  he 
paid  a  farewell  visit  to  almost  every  district  where 
he  had  preached,  and  on  the  7th  of  July  he  issued 
what  he  calls  a  "  Letter  of  Wholesome  Counsel  to 
his  Brethren  in  Scotland";  "not  so  much,"  he 
declares,  "to  instruct  you,  as  to  leave  with  you 
some  testimony  of  my  love."  He  admonishes  his 
"beloved  brethren  "  to  meet  regularly  for  congrega- 
tional worship, "  which  I  would  were  once  a  week ' ' ; 
and  he  sketches  for  them  an  Order  of  Service, 
similar  to  that  which  he  had  adopted  at  Frank- 
fort, Geneva,  and  also,  doubtless,  recently  in 
Scotland.  In  the  absence  of  a  specially  ordained 
ministry,  he  recommends  that  after  some  portion 
of  Scripture  has  been  read,  "if  any  brother  have 
exhortation,  question,  or  doubt,  let  him  not  fear 
to  speak  or  move  the  same,  so  that  he  do  it  with 
moderation."  He  adds  considerately  that  "if 
anything  occur  within  the  text,  or  else  arise  in 
reasoning,  which  your  judgment  cannot  resolve  or 
your  capacities  apprehend  ...  I  will  more 
gladly  spend  fifteen  hours  in  explaining  [i.  e.,  by 
letter],  as  God  pleases  to  open  to  me,  any  place 
of  Scripture,  than  half  an  hour  in  any  matter 
beside."  * 

Knox  had  not  long  left  Scotland  when  the  hi- 
erarchy resumed  proceedings  against  him.  The 
huntsmen  who  had  retired  when  the  lion  appeared 


xThe  letter  is  contained  in  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  133-140. 


174  John  Knox  [1555-1556] 

now  became  bold  when  their  intended  prey  had 
retired.  He  was  summoned  in  absentia  before 
the  Provincial  Council;  but  no  written  citation 
ever  reached  him;  and  he  declares  that  when  a 
copy  of  the  summons  was  demanded  (presumably 
by  his  friends  in  Scotland)  it  was  refused.  For 
the  Reformer's  non-appearance,  as  well  as  for 
other  offences,  sentence  of  excommunication  ap- 
pears to  have  been  pronounced  against  him  fol- 
lowed by  the  nominal  surrender  of  his  person 
to  the  civil  power  with  a  view  to  the  penalty  of 
death;  for  his  body  was  "burnt  in  effigy  at  the 
Cross  of  Edinburgh."  I 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  i.,  254;  iv.,  471. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  SCOTTISH  REFORMATION  MOVEMENT  BETWEEN 
KNOX'S  DEPARTURE  FROM  SCOTLAND  IN  1 5  56 
AND  HIS  FINAL  RETURN  IN  1 559 — THE  RE- 
FORMER'S CONTRIBUTIONS  IN  HIS  ABSENCE  TO 
THE   PROGRESS    OF   THE    CAUSE 

I556-I559. 

DURING  the  interval  between  the  departure 
of  Knox  from  Scotland  in  July,  1556,  and 
his  return  in  May,  1559,  the  way  was  gradually 
prepared  for  the  final  conflict  in  which  he  was  to 
take  the  leading  part.  The  Reform  party  became 
more  numerous  and  consolidated,  more  self-reliant 
and  aggressive :  the  Regent's  demeanour  towards 
Protestants  became  less  amicable  and  at  length 
openly  hostile :  the  hierarchy,  encouraged  by  the 
altered  attitude  of  the  Court,  and  stimulated  by 
the  conviction  that  the  Church  was  in  peril,  re- 
sumed their  policy  of  persecution;  the  alliance 
with  France,  although  it  appeared  to  be  sealed  by 
the  marriage  of  Mary  Stuart  and  the  Dauphin, 
declined  in  popularity;  and  Romanism  in  conse- 
quence  lost    the    benefit    which    Henry  VIII.'s 

175 


176  John  Knox  [i556- 

unwise  policy  had  conferred  upon  it,  of  association 
with  patriotism  in  the  minds  of  the  Scottish  peo- 
ple. Each  of  these  developments  hastened  the 
ecclesiastical  crisis,  and  contributed, directly  or  in- 
directly, to  the  ultimate  triumph  of  Protestantism. 
I.  In  March,  1557,  as  we  have  already  seen,  a 
letter  was  despatched  to  Knox  by  a  section  of 
the  Scottish  nobility,  craving  his  return  to  Scot- 
land. His  acceptance  of  the  invitation  and  his 
detention  at  Dieppe,  owing  to  discouraging  letters 
from  home,  have  already  been  related.1  "Con- 
founded and  pierced  with  anguish,"  he  wrote  to 
the  Lords,  upbraiding  them  for  having  "fainted 
in  their  former  purpose  through  fear  of  danger" 
and  suggesting  that  they  "preferred  the  friend- 
ship of  the  wicked  to  the  salvation  of  Brethren."  2 
His  words,  written  in  natural  irritation,  may  have 
been,  to  use  his  own  expression,  "  somewhat  sharp 
and  indiscreetly  spoken."  Moreover,  subsequent 
reflection  led  him  also  to  "  suspect  my  own  wicked- 
ness," and  to  admit  that  along  with  the  "doubts 
and  cauld  writings  of  some  brethren"  were  the 
"cogitations"  of  what  he  calls  elsewhere  his 
"natural    fearfulness."  3      His    letter,    however, 


1  See  page  144. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  271. 

3  See  letter  to  "sisters  in  Edinburgh  sent  from  Geneva  in 
April,  1558."  With  a  naivete  which  disarms  criticism,  Knox 
confesses  that  the  "cause  of  my  stop  do  I  not  to  this  day 
clearly  understand."  Apparently  he  had  been  from  the  first 
of  two  minds  as  to  what  he  should  do.      A  chivalrous  and 


i559]       The  Scottish  Reformation         177 

proved  to  be  a  salutary  stimulus  to  Reforming 
zeal;  while  a  recent  attempt  by  the  Regent,  at 
the  instigation  of  France,  to  involve  Scotland  in 
a  needless  and  unprovoked  war  with  England  z 
had  cooled  Scottish  favour  for  the  French  alliance, 
and  thus  weakened  so  far  the  cause  of  Romanism. 
"  New  consultation,"  accordingly,  "  was  had,  what 
was  best  to  be  done" ;  and  on  the  3rd  December, 
1557,  there  was  drawn  up  at  Edinburgh  what  was 
called  a  "  Common  Band,"  generally  known  as  the 
first  Scottish  ''Covenant."  It  marks  a  fresh 
stage  in  the  Reformation  movement.  By  absent- 
ing themselves  from  mass  and  celebrating  the 
Communion  with  a  Reformed  ritual,  the  Protest- 
ants had  already  organised  themselves  into  a 
church  for  united  worship  and  mutual  edification ; 
by  the  adoption  of  this  Covenant  they  took  the 
further  step  of  organising  themselves  into  a  league 
for  common  action  and  mutual  defence. 


dutiful  desire  to  stand  by  his  Scottish  friends  conflicted  with 
reluctance  not  only  to  risk  his  own  life  but  to  cause  ' '  tumults 
to  rise  "  in  Scotland,  without  real  benefit  to  the  cause.  He 
left  Geneva,  however,  resolved  to  act  what  he  felt  to  be  the 
nobler  and  bolder  part.  The  discouraging  letters  received  at 
Dieppe  reawakened  his  doubts;  in  his  vexation  at  having 
his  courage  thus  undermined  by  those  who  had  urged  him 
on,  he  threw  the  whole  blame  on  the  lords;  but  in  calmer 
mood  he  honestly  shared  the  discredit,  and  could  not  under- 
stand how  he  had  allowed  himself  to  be  dissuaded  from  pro- 
ceeding to  Scotland,  except  that  to  "punish  my  former 
un thankfulness,  it  may  be,  God  .  .  .  permitted  Satan 
to  put  in  my  mind  sic  cogitations  as  did  impede  my  journey." 
1  Lesley,  H.  0}  Sc.  (Scott.  Text  Soc.  ed.),  ii.,  368-372. 


178  John  Knox  [i5S6- 

"We  do  promise  before  the  Majesty  of  God  and 
this  congregation" — so  ran  the  terms  of  the  Band — 
"that  we  by  His  grace  shall  with  all  diligence  apply 
our  whole  power,  substance,  and  our  very  lives,  to 
maintain,  set  forward,  and  establish  the  most  blessed 
Word  of  God  and  His  congregation ;  and  shall  labour 
at  our  possibility  to  have  faithful  ministers  purely 
and  truly  to  minister  Christ's  Evangel  and  Sacra- 
ments. We  shall  maintain  them,  nourish  them,  and 
defend  them,  the  whole  congregation  of  Christ  and 
every  member  thereof,  at  our  whole  power  and  war- 
ing [i.  e.,  sacrifice]  of  our  lives,  against  Satan  and  all 
wicked  power  that  does  intend  tyranny  or  trouble 
against  the  foresaid  congregation."  l 

The  Covenant  was  signed  by  a  large  number  of 
nobles  and  gentry,  including  the  Earls  of  Argyle, 
Glencairn,  and  Morton,  Lord  Lome,  and  Erskine 
of  Dun.  The  subscribers  became  known  as  the 
"Lords  of  the  Congregation,"  and  constituted 
themselves  into  a  national  Protestant  council. 
Their  aims  were  far-reaching:  but  their  early 
procedure  was  moderate.  In  accordance,  sub- 
stantially, with  Knox's  "Wholesome  Counsel" 
of  July,  1556,  regarding  stated  weekly  public  wor- 
ship, it  was  "ordained  that  in  all  parishes  of  this 
realm  the  Common  Prayers  be  read  on  Sunday 
and  other  festival  days,  publicly,  in  the  parish 
Kirks,  with  the  lessons  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  conform  to  the  order  of  the  Book  of 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  273. 


1559]        The  Scottish  Reformation         179 

Common  Prayers "  l ;  the  curates  to  be  asked  to 
discharge  the  office,  if  qualified  and  willing ;  fail- 
ing these,  the  most  qualified  persons  available. 
"  Preaching  and  interpretation  of  Scripture,"  as 
distinguished  from  worship,  were  meanwhile  to 
be  held  in  private  houses,  "  until  God  move  the 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,i.,  270.  It  has  been  disputed  whether  the 
Second  Prayer-book  of  Edward  VI.  or  the  Book  of  Geneva, 
published  in  the  preceding  year,  be  here  intended.  One  might 
have  supposed  that  Knox's  influence  would  secure  the  use  of 
the  latter  rather  than  of  a  liturgy  of  which  he  partly  disap- 
proved; yet  evidence  exists  that  even  in  June,  1559,  the 
Prayer-book  set  forth  by  "godly  King  Edward"  was  read 
in  parish  churches  (Laing,  vi.,  34) ;  and  this  testimony  is  con- 
firmed by  an  extant  summons  raised  in  1560  by  the  Vicar  of 
Lintrathen  for  payment  of  teinds  on  this  ground  (among 
others)  that  he  ' '  has  caused  the  Common  Prayers  and  Homi- 
lies to  be  read  weekly  to  the  parishioners,"  referring  appar- 
ently to  the  Book  of  Homilies  associated  with  the  Prayer-book 
of  Edward  {Spalding  Miscell.,  iv.,  120).  Moreover,  the  men- 
tion (in  the  injunction)  of  the  "Lessons  conform  to  the  order 
of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayers"  does  not  suit  the  Book  of 
Geneva,  which  has  no  stated  lectionary.  The  probable  ex- 
planation of  the  sanction  of  the  English  instead  of  the 
Genevan  Liturgy  at  this  time  is  that  more  copies  of  the 
former,  being  the  older  book,  existed  in  Scotland;  that 
the  Service-book  of  Edward  had  come  into  considerable  use 
before  the  Book  of  Geneva  had  been  issued;  and  that  Knox 
although  disapproving  of  portions  of  the  English  liturgy,  re- 
frained from  protesting  against  its  use  in  Scotland,  just  as  he 
had  refrained  from  such  protest  while  he  was  in  England,  so 
long  as  his  direct  sanction  was  not  required.  When  the  ar- 
rangements of  worship  came  afterwards  under  his  own  charge, 
the  English  liturgy  was  superseded  by  the  Genevan  Order 
(McCrie,  Life  of  Knox,  note  DD;  Laing,  vi.,  227;  A.  F. 
Mitchell,  Scot.  Ref.,  128). 


180  John  Knox  [iSS6- 

Prince  to  grant  public  preaching  by  faithful  and 
true  ministers."  I 

The  Protestant  leaders  had  apparently  in  con- 
templation not  merely  reformed  worship  in  every 
parish  alongside  of  the  Romish  ritual,  but  the 
eventual  supersession  of  the  latter  by  the  former. 
This,  however,  did  not  mean  necessarily  the  super- 
session of  the  old  by  a  new  Church.  There  was 
still  a  widespread  hope  that,  through  the  action 
of  the  State,  supported  by  sympathetic  churchmen 
who  realised  the  need  of  reform,  the  existing  or- 
ganisation might  be  transformed  without  being 
demolished.  The  Lords  of  the  Congregation,  ac- 
cordingly, followed  up  their  enactments  by  a 
petition  addressed  to  the  Regent  and  presented 
in  the  spring  of  1558  by  the  aged  Sir  James  Sandi- 
lands  of  Calder.  The  petition  craved,  on  the  one 
hand,  full  liberty  both  of  preaching  and  of  public 
worship,  including  administration  of  the  sacra- 
ments "in  the  vulgar  tongue,"  with  Communion 
"in  both  kinds";  on  the  other  hand,  stringent 
ecclesiastical  discipline,  "that  the  wicked,  scan- 
dalous, and  detestable  life  of  prelates  and  of  the 
State  Ecclesiastical  may  be  so  reformed  that  the 
people  have  not  occasion  to  contemn  their  min- 
istry." The  Reformers  at  this  stage  appear  to 
have  hoped  that  if  a  riddance  were  obtained  of 
ill-living  bishops  and  clergy,  those  who  remained 
would  acquiesce  in  a  Reformed  ritual  and  doctrine, 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  276. 


i5S9]        The  Scottish  Reformation         181 

and  "the  grave  and  godly  face  of  the  primitive 
Church"  would  be  restored.1  The  Regent  gave 
the  petitioners  a  conciliatory  answer.  On  condi- 
tion that  they  refrained  from  holding  "public 
assemblies"  in  Edinburgh  and  Leith,  she  "prom- 
ised her  assistance  to  the  preachers"  of  the  Con- 
gregation "until  some  uniform  order  might  be 
established  by  a  Parliament."  By  this  time, 
however,  as  will  presently  be  seen,  she  was  on  the 
eve,  as  she  believed,  of  emancipation  from  depen- 
dence on  Protestant  support;  and  subsequent 
events  appear  to  corroborate  the  assertion  of 
Knox  that  simultaneously  "  she  gave  signification 
of  her  mind  to  the  clergy,  promising  that  how 
soon  any  opportunity  should  serve,  she  should  so 
put  order  in  their  matters,  that  after  they  should 
not  be  troubled."  2 

II.  While  the  leaders  of  the  Congregation  were 
carrying  out,  with  due  caution,  the  terms  of  the 
Covenant,  the  Regent  was  bringing  to  maturity 
that  matrimonial  alliance  between  Scotland  and 
France  to  secure  which  she  was  obliged  to  court 
for  a  time  the  support  of  the  Protestant  nobility. 
In  December,  1557,  the  Scottish  Estates  were  in- 
duced to  fulfil  the  agreement  made  with  France 
nine  years  before ;  and  eight  commissioners,  includ- 
ing Lord  James  Stewart  and  Erskine  of  Dun,  pro- 
ceeded to  Paris  to  make  the  final  arrangements 


IKnox,  H.  of  R.,  pp.  302-306. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  307. 


182  John  Knox  [i55g- 

for  the  marriage  of  Mary  Stuart  with  the  Dau- 
phin. On  the  19th  April,  1558,  the  treaty  of 
marriage  was  signed;  the  contract  including  an 
agreement  according  to  which  the  Dauphin  was 
to  bear  the  title  of  "King  of  Scotland."  Five 
days  later  the  marriage  was  celebrated  in  the 
Church  of  Notre  Darned  The  Regent's  policy  had 
thus  apparently  succeeded.  Her  son-in-law  and 
her  daughter  seemed  destined  to  become  King 
and  Queen  of  France  and  of  Scotland ;  the  latter, 
as  the  smaller  country,  would  become  eventually, 
under  their  heirs,  an  appanage  of  France;  the 
maintenance  of  the  Roman  Church  in  Scotland 
would  be  secured  by  French  support  and,  if  neces- 
sary, armed  intervention ;  while  France  would  be 
effectively  fortified  in  any  future  conflict  with  Eng- 
land. At  once  the  motherly  ambition,  the  Catholic 
aspirations,  and  the  patriotic  sentiment  of  the 
daughter  of  Guise  were  fully  satisfied.  From  this 
time,  accordingly,  the  relations  between  the  Re- 
gent and  the  Reformers  began  to  cool.2     Having 


1  Diur.  of  Occur.,  p.  52;    Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  vi.,  80,  81. 

2  It  was  necessary,  however,  for  the  Regent  to  temporise 
meanwhile  and  to  conceal  her  change  of  attitude,  owing  to 
her  anxiety  to  comply  with  the  request  of  the  French  Court 
that  the  Scottish  crown  should  be  sent  to  Paris  for  the  coro- 
nation of  the  Dauphin.  Parliament  gave  its  consent,  in  Nov. , 
1558.  Had  the  Scots  become  aware  that  three  weeks  before 
the  marriage  Mary  Stuart  had  been  induced  to  sign  a  secret 
contract,  making  over  Scotland  to  the  King  of  France  in  the 
event  of  her  dying  without  offspring,  the  significance  of  this 
use  of  the  crown  would  have  been  realised,  and  the  insidious 


I559]        The  Scottish  Reformation         183 

availed  herself  of  the  Protestant  party  to  overcome 
the  rivalry  of  the  House  of  Hamilton,  she  was  now 
prepared,  at  first  with  reserve,  but  ere  long  openly, 
to  co-operate  with  Primate  Hamilton  in  suppress- 
ing Protestantism.  She  failed,  however,  to  esti- 
mate aright  the  strength  of  the  Reformers  whom 
she  was  about  to  force  into  conflict ;  and  her  love 
of  France  blinded  her  to  the  fact  that  ten  years 
of  French  alliance  had  taught  to  many  Scots 
the  lesson  that,  apart  from  the  religious  conflict 
altogether,  the  friendship  of  France  involved  for 
Scotland  present  trouble,  with  the  possibility  of 
eventual  annexation.1 

III.  The  policy  of  the  Reformers  and  of  the 
Regent  affected  the  procedure  of  the  Primate. 
The  more  aggressive  action  of  the  Congregation 
goaded  him,  the  recently  altered  attitude  of  the 
Regent  emboldened  him,  the  failure  of  his  own 
endeavours  to  stem,  through  internal  reform, 
the  progress  of  Protestantism  constrained  him — 
to  try  the  effect  of  renewed  persecution.  The 
victim  selected  to  inaugurate  the  new  policy 
was  an  aged  priest  of  eighty-two  years,  Walter 
Milne,  who   in  his   earlier  life   had   travelled  in 


request  would,  doubtless,  have  been  refused.  The  Scots  never 
intended  that  the  Dauphin  should  be  recognised  as  King  of 
Scotland,  except  as  husband  of  their  Queen ;  and  the  Estates 
stipulated  that  if  Mary  died  without  issue  the  Dauphin  was 
to  renounce  all  claim  to  the  throne  (Diur.,  52;  Tytler,  H. 
of  Sc,  vi.,  83,  84;  Hume  Brown,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  45. 
1  Hamilton  Papers,  ii.,  616;  Teulet,  i.,  414. 


184  John  Knox  [1556- 

Germany  and  had  there  imbibed  Reformed  opin- 
ions. During  the  primacy  of  Cardinal  Beaton  he 
had  become  parish  minister  of  Lunan  in  Forfar- 
shire :  but  his  religious  views  became  known,  and, 
in  order  to  escape  a  trial,  he  had  abandoned  his 
cure  and  lived  in  privacy,  continuing,  however, 
to  preach  secretly  Reformed  doctrine.  He  was 
at  length  discovered  at  Dysart,  in  Fife,  by  two 
priests  in  the  employment  of  the  Primate,  and 
was  brought  to  trial  at  St.  Andrews  in  April,  1558, 
before  a  numerous  assemblage  of  bishops,  abbots, 
and  theologians.  His  "  heresies  "  included  the  de- 
nial of  seven  sacraments,  of  transubstantiation, 
and  of  the  obligation  of  priestly  celibacy,  which 
he  had  practically  repudiated  by  marriage.  When 
the  old  man  entered  the  cathedral  where  the  trial 
took  place,  he  appeared  so  feeble  that  his  judges 
doubted  whether  he  could  make  himself  heard. 
"  But  when  he  began  to  speak" — so  Foxe  testifies 
— "  he  made  the  Church  ring  and  sound  again  with 
so  great  courage  and  stoutness  that  the  Christ- 
ians present  were  no  less  rejoiced  than  the  adver- 
saries were  confounded  and  ashamed."  When 
he  was  required  to  retract  his  "erroneous  opin- 
ions," "  I  will  not  recant  the  truth,"  was  his  brave 
reply,  "  for  I  am  corn  and  no  chaff;  and  I  will  not 
be  blown  away  with  the  wind,  nor  burst  with  the 
flail,  but  I  will  abide  both."  He  was  handed  over 
accordingly,  as  an  obdurate  heretic,  to  the  secular 
power.      With  the  Regent's  tacit  acquiescence, 


i5S9]        The  Scottish  Reformation         185 

although  she  afterwards  disclaimed  responsibility,1 
he  was  burned  at  the  stake  on  the  28th  April,  two 
days  after  that  marriage  at  Notre  Dame  with  which 
his  exposure  to  hierarchical  vengeance  was,  with- 
out his  knowing  it,  indirectly  connected.  "  As  for 
me,"  were  his  last  words  "  I  am  fourscore  and  two 
years  old,  and  cannot  live  long  but  a  hundred 
better  shall  rise  out  of  the  ashes  of  my  bones.  I 
trust  to  God  I  shall  be  the  hindmost  that  shall 
suffer  for  this  cause."  2  The  hope  of  the  dying 
martyr  was  fulfilled, — he  was  the  last  victim  of 
Roman  persecution  in  Scotland. 

IV.  The  burning  of  Milne  was  a  blunder  as  well 
as  a  crime.  It  was  already  too  late  to  terrify 
Protestants  into  submission:  the  martyrdom 
served  only  to  discredit  Romanism  and  to  incite 
Reformers  to  more  open  defiance.  The  sufferings 
of  an  emaciated  old  man  awakened  general  sym- 
pathy; and  the  resumption  of  persecution  unto 
death,  after  an  interval  of  eight  years,  appeared 
to  show  that  the  comparative  toleration  recently 
enjoyed,  instead  of  being  the  prelude  to  entire 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  308,  309;  Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  vi.,  102; 
Mathieson,  Polit.  and  Rel.  in  Sc.  i.,  56.  The  Regent  could 
hardly  be  ignorant  of  the  proceedings  against  Walter  Milne, 
for  he  appears  to  have  been  detained  for  a  considerable 
time  in  prison ,  with  a  view  to  recantation.  Among  his  judges 
were  the  Bishops  of  Moray  and  Caithness,  who  must  have 
received  long  notice  of  the  trial,  and  eight  days  intervened 
between  the  sentence  and  its  execution. 

2  Knox,  /.  c;  Foxe,  ii.,  623-626;  Pitscottie,  ii.,  130-136 
(Sc.  T.  S.  ed.);   Keith,  Ch.  and  St.,  i.,  156. 


186  John  Knox  [i556- 

freedom  of  doctrine  and  worship,  was  only  the 
temporary  interruption,  for  strategic  reasons,  of  a 
policy  of  oppression  and  bloodshed. 

Three  significant  indications  of  the  growth  of 
popular  sentiment  against  the  Roman  Church 
were  given  during  the  year  1558.  The  first  was 
in  connection  with  the  martyrdom  of  Milne.  After 
his  condemnation  by  the  ecclesiastical  court  in 
St.  Andrews,  it  was  found  difficult  to  obtain  any 
competent  secular  authority  to  execute  the  sen- 
tence. The  Provost  of  the  town  and  the  Bishop's 
chamberlain  successively  declined  the  odious 
office ;  it  was  at  length  undertaken  by  an  official 
of  lower  standing,  whom  Buchanan  describes  as 
an  "  infamous  man,"  and  Pitscottie  as  a  "  crapinell 
[i.  e.,  knave]  of  the  devil."  The  merchants  refused 
to  sell  any  materials — wood  or  cord,  tar  or  powder 
— for  the  burning;  and  "the  people  showed  the 
intensity  of  their  indignation  by  heaping  up  a  great 
pile  of  stones  in  the  place  where  the  martyr  suf- 
fered, so  that  the  memory  of  his  death  might  not 
perish  with  his  life."  1  The  second  incident  re- 
lated to  a  summons  which,  at  the  instigation  of 
the  hierarchy,  the  Regent  had  issued,  ordering 
certain  Protestant  evangelists — including  Harlaw, 
Douglas,  and  Methven  2 — to  appear  at  Edinburgh 
on  the  1 8th  of  July.     The  citation  was  probably 

1  Buchanan,  189;    Pitscottie,  ii.,  135;    Foxe,  ii.,  626. 

2  Harlaw  had  been  exercising  his  gifts  mainly  in  Edin- 
burgh, Douglas  in  Leith,  Methven  in  Dundee  (Knox,  H.  of 
R.,l,  256). 


i559]       The  Scottish  Reformation         187 

regarded  as  the  easiest  method  of  getting  rid  of  the 
preachers,  who  might  be  expected  to  flee  rather 
than  to  "compear."  Following  Knox's  example, 
however,  two  years  before,  they  responded  to  the 
summons.  But  they  did  not  appear  alone. 
"Many  faithful  men"  from  the  West,  headed  by 
James  Chalmers  of  Gadgirth  in  Ayrshire,  pene- 
trated into  the  room  where  the  Regent  and  the 
bishops  had  assembled.  They  charged  the  Primate 
and  his  fellow-prelates  with  this  fresh  outbreak 
of  oppression;  plainly  intimated  to  the  Regent 
that  they  "would  suffer  this  no  longer";  and  in 
token  of  their  determination  to  add  force,  if  re- 
quired, to  remonstrance,  "every  man  put  on  his 
steel  bonnet."  The  Queen  Dowager  perceived  at 
once  the  necessity  of  timely  concession ;  declared 
that  she  "meant  no  evil"  to  them  or  to  their 
preachers;  called  the  intruders  her  "loving  sub- 
jects"; and  then,  turning  to  the  bishops  at  her 
side,  forbade  them  to  trouble  either  the  preachers 
or  their  champions.  "And  so," — writes  Knox, — 
"the  day  of  summons  being  discharged,  began  the 
brethren  universally  to  be  further  encouraged."1 
The  third  incident  was  of  a  different  character, 
yet  equally  suggestive,  in  another  way,  of  the 
growth  of  anti-Roman  sentiment.  It  occurred  in 
September,  on  the  occasion  of  the  annual  com- 
memoration of  St.  Giles.  When  the  image  of  the 
saint  was  borne,  as  usual,  in  solemn  procession 

1  Knox,  i.,  257,  258;    Pitscottie,  ii.,  137. 


188  John  Knox  [i556- 

along  the  High  Street  of  Edinburgh,  "the  hearts 
of  the  brethren" — so  Knox  records — "were  won- 
derfully inflamed"  on  "seeing  such  abomination 
so  manifestly  maintained."  "Down  with  the 
idol!"  was  the  cry.  One  of  the  onlookers  "took 
him  by  the  heels,  and  dadding  [knocking]  his  head 
to  the  causeway,  left  'Dagon'  without  head  or 
hands."  "The  priests  and  friars  fled  faster  than 
they  did  at  Pinkie  Cleucht."  "  Down  go  the 
crosses,  off  goes  the  surplice";  while  "a  merry 
Englishman"  who  stood  by  exclaims  in  jeering 
tone,  "Why  fly  ye,  villains,  now,  without  order? 
Turn,  and  strike  every  one  a  stroke  for  the  honour 
of  his  god!"  Knox  significantly  concludes  his 
account  of  the  incident  with  the  remark,  "After 
that  Baal  had  broken  his  neck,  there  was  no  com- 
fort to  his  confused  army."  x 

V.  On  the  14th  July,  1558,  a  few  days  prior 
to  the  citation  of  the  preachers,  Knox  printed  at 
Geneva,  for  circulation  in  Scotland,  two  tracts 
which  had  an  important  bearing  on  the  ecclesias- 
tical situation.  One  of  these  was  his  "  Appellation 
to  the  Nobility  and  the  Estates  of  Scotland"  from 
the  sentence  pronounced  against  him  by  the  hier- 
archy two  years  before.  In  form  this  appeal  was 
somewhat  belated :  in  substance,  it  was  timely  in 
a  high  degree.  To  Knox  personally  the  sentence 
of  the  bishops  was  of  little  account:  and  evi- 
dently he  had  bided  his  time  until  the  renewal 


1  Knox,  i.,  259-261, 


is59]       The  Scottish  Reformation         189 

of  persecution,  in  April  1558,  provided  an  appro- 
priate opportunity  for  his  testimony.  The  real 
occasion  of  the  ''Appellation  "  was  the  martyrdom 
of  Milne  and  the  policy  which  it  appeared  to  in- 
augurate. He  exposes  the  injustice  of  churchmen 
who  are  at  once  accusers  and  accused,  being  also 
allowed  to  assume  the  position  of  judges:  he 
declares  that  the  issues  raised  by  himself  and 
others  could  be  properly  tried  only  by  a  "general 
Council  of  the  Church";  he  claims,  meanwhile, 
that  "until  the  controversies  be  lawfully  decided" 
he  and  other  victims  of  persecution  ought  to  be 
protected  by  the  civil  power,  and  that  when  a  trial 
takes  place,  the  standard  of  judgment  must  be 
"the  plain  Word  of  God."  *  He  maintains,  fur- 
ther, the  right  of  preachers  "to  appeal  from  the 
judgment  of  the  visible  Church  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  temporal  Magistrate,  who  by  God's  law  is 
bound  to  hear  their  causes,  and  to  defend  them 
from  tyranny."  It  was  lawful  in  their  case,  to  "  ap- 
peal unto  Caesar."  2  If  the  visible  Church,  God's 
chosen  organ  for  the  diffusion  of  religious  truth, 
flagrantly  failed  to  fulfil  its  appointed  function,  and 
disregarded  that  Word  of  God  which  is  its  divine 
directory,  there  was  no  alternative  except  to  ap- 
peal to  that  other  "Minister  of  God,"  the  civil 
power,  to  accomplish  the  work  which  the  Church 
had  egregiously  failed  to  perform.     We  shall  see 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.y  iv.,  469,  470, 
3  Ibid.,  p.  472-476. 


i9°  John  Knox  [i556- 

presently  the  effect  of  the  "Appellation"  on  the 
Protestant  leaders  who  were  also  members  of  the 
Scottish  Parliament. 

Knox  had  a  further  appeal  to  his  countrymen. 
It  was  possible  that  the  Scottish  Estates  would 
be  unfaithful  to  their  responsibilities  equally 
with  the  Church.  Accordingly,  from  his  watch- 
tower  at  Geneva  he  addresses  a  message,  not 
merely  to  the  nobility  and  Estates,  but  to  the  peo- 
ple at  large,  in  his  "  Letter  to  the  Commonalty  of 
Scotland."  He  bids  them  remember  that  they — 
the  people — shared  with  their  rulers  the  respon- 
sibility for  the  religious  condition  of  the  nation ; 
for  "in  the  hope  of  the  life  to  come  God  hath 
made  all  equal."  "You  may  lawfully,"  he  con- 
tinues, "require  of  your  superiors  that  they  pro- 
vide for  you  true  preachers,  and  expel  such  as 
under  the  name  of  your  pastors  devour  and  de- 
stroy the  flock."  If,  however,  "your  superiors 
be  negligent,  most  justly  ye  may  provide  true 
teachers  for  yourselves,"  and  with  a  view  to  their 
maintenance  "withhold  the  fruits  and  profits 
which  your  false  bishops  and  clergy  most  unjustly 
receive  of  you,  unto  such  time  as  they  be  com- 
pelled faithfully  to  do  their  charge  and  duties; 
which  is  to  preach  unto  you  Jesus  Christ  truly,  to 
minister  His  Sacraments  according  to  His  own 
institution,  and  to  watch  for  the  salvation  of  your 
souls."  "Nay,  further,"  he  adds,  in  a  closing 
word  of  warning,  "as  your  rulers  are  criminal, 


1559]        The  Scottish  Reformation         191 

with  your  bishops,  of  all  idolatry  committed,  and 
of  the  innocent  blood  that  is  shed,  because  they 
[the  rulers]  maintain  them  [the  prelates]  in  their 
tyranny"  ;  "  so  are  you  criminal  and  guilty  of  the 
same  crimes,  so  many  of  you  as  give  no  plain  con- 
fession to  the  contrary,  because  ye  assist  and 
maintain  your  rulers."  l  It  was  a  bold  declara- 
tion in  that  age.  "  This  doctrine,  I  know,"  writes 
Knox  himself,  "is  strange  to  the  blind  world."  2 
Fortunately,  as  regards  the  Reformation,  the 
Scottish  Estates  fulfilled,  so  far  at  least,  their 
obligations,  in  1560;  and  the  drastic  intervention 
of  the  "Commonalty"  was  not  required.  But 
Knox,  after  all,  in  this  letter  only  anticipated,  of 
necessity  vaguely  and  crudely,  the  great  principle 
embodied  in  popular  representative  government, 
viz.,  that  the  real  fountain  of  power  in  the  State, 
along  with  the  ultimate  responsibility  for  national 
policy,  belongs,  or  ought  to  belong,  not  to  any 
privileged  section  of  the  community,  but  to  the 
citizenship  at  large. 

VI.  Knox's  "Appellation,"  the  recent  renewal 
of  persecution,  and  the  popular  sympathy  with 
Protestantism  thereby  evoked,  led  to  the  Lords 
of  the  Congregation  taking  another  step  forward 
in  realising  the  aims  of  the  Covenant.  In  ac- 
cordance with  the  terms  of  the  "Appellation," 
they  prepared  a  statement  of  grievances  and  a 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  iv.,  524,  525,  527,  528,  533,  534. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  535. 


192  John  Knox  [1556- 

demand  for  redress,  to  be  laid  formally  before 
the  Estates  in  November,  1558.  They  "require" 
that  Acts  of  Parliament  giving  "  power  to  the 
Churchmen  to  proceed  against  so-called  heretics" 
be  suspended  till  a  "General  Council  [of  the 
Church]  have  decided  all  controversies  in  re- 
ligion"; that  "the  prelates  be  removed  from 
the  place  of  judges,"  and  be  allowed  to  act 
only  as  "accusers"  before  a  temporal  tribunal; 
and  that  no  condemnation  for  heresy  be  valid 
unless  "the  heretics  be  convicted"  "by  the 
manifest  Word  of  God."1  This  "Petition  of 
Rights"  was  presented  beforehand  to  the  Re- 
gent, "because  we  were  determined  to  enterprise 
nothing  without  her  knowledge."  2 

Mary  of  Guise,  although  now  resolved  to  proceed 
against  the  Protestants,  was  unwilling  at  this  stage 
to  lose  their  support ;  for  the  question  of  giving 
the  "Crown  Matrimonial"  to  the  Dauphin  was 
to  come  before  the  approaching  Parliament.  She 
put  off  the  petitioners  with  "amiable  looks  and 
good  words,"  keeping,  however,  "their  bill  close 
in  her  pocket."  The  Reform  leaders  accordingly, 
on  the  29th  of  November,  went  direct  to  the 
Estates  with  a  trenchant  manifesto,  to  which 
they  gave  the  suggestive  title  of  "Protesta- 
tion." After  referring  to  their  previous  petition, 
presented  to  the  Regent  for  transmission,  they 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  309-311. 
2 Ibid.,  i.,  312. 


i559]        The  Scottish  Reformation         193 

protest ' '  against  that  most  unjust  tyranny  which 
we  heretofore  most  patiently  have  sustained ' ' ; 
solemnly  testify  that  they  are  not  to  be  held 
guilty  "for  violating  such  rites  as  man  without 
God's  Word  hath  commanded";  and  significantly 
add  that  "if  any  tumult  shall  arise  among  the 
members  of  this  realm"  on  account  of  the  "di- 
versity of  religion,"  "the  crime  thereof  be  not 
imputed  to  us,  who  most  humbly  do  now  seek 
all  things  to  be  reformed  by  an  Order."  r  It  was 
an  emphatic  warning  that  unless  the  constituted 
authorities  took  in  hand  the  needful  measures  of 
reformation,  the  policy  of  "passive  resistance" 
might  at  any  moment  be  exchanged  for  active 
and,  it  might  prove,  violent  conflict. 

VII.  The  death  of  Mary  Tudor,  and  the  acces- 
sion of  Elizabeth,  in  November  1558,  a  few  days 
before  the  Scottish  Parliament  assembled,  helped 
to  precipitate  the  ecclesiastical  crisis,  and  con- 
strained the  Regent  to  terminate  the  policy  of 
friendly  toleration.  If  Scotland  was  to  be  de- 
livered from  Protestant  heresy  and  to  be  preserved 
for  the  Catholic  Church,  the  object  must  be  ac- 
complished now,  before  a  Protestant  English 
Government  had  time  to  assist  the  Scottish 
Reformers.  From  this  Parliament,  accordingly, 
maybe  dated  the  final  struggle,  in  which  the  Re- 
gent, hence  forward  in  open  alliance  with  the  hier- 
archy and   under  the  stimulus  of  the  house  of 


Knox,  H.  of  R.,  pp.  313,  314. 
13 


194  John  Knox  [ISS6- 

Guise,  endeavoured  to  suppress  the  Reformation 
in  Scotland.1  In  the  spring  of  1 559,  a  fresh  order 
was  issued  by  the  Privy  Council  prohibiting  all 
preaching  by  unauthorised  persons.  The  Regent 
resumed  the  repressive  citations  which  the  men 
with  the  "steel  bonnets"  had  constrained  her  to 
cancel  about  nine  months  before.  When  four 
notable  Reformed  preachers, — Harlaw,  Willock, 
Christison,  and  Methven, — supported  by  influen- 
tial laymen,  continued  their  "unauthorised"  min- 
istrations, they  were  summoned  to  appear  at 
Stirling  on  the  10th  of  May,  to  answer  the  charge 
of  rebellious  conduct.2 

There  is  evidence  that  the  Regent  entered 
with  some  misgiving  3  on  a  conflict  the  outcome 
of  which  must  have  appeared  at  least  doubtful. 
But  French  influence  and  policy  combined 
with  her  own  Catholic  convictions  and  family 
ambition  to  urge  her  onward.  France  was  at  this 
time  negotiating  a  treaty 4  with  Spain  and  with  the 

1  The  hierarchy  realised  at  this  crisis  that  reform  must  ac- 
company repression;  and  a  Provincial  Council,  held  early  in 
March  1559,  enacted  numerous  reforming  canons.  Fresh 
provision,  also  was  made  for  the  instruction  of  the  people,  in- 
cluding a  short  manual  of  the  mass,  nicknamed  the  "  Two- 
penny Faith."  But  such  "  measures  of  reform  "  as  Catholic 
writers  admit,  "  came  too  late."  Robertson,  Statuta,  ii.,  142 ; 
Bellesheim,  ii.,    244-252;   Lesley,  ii.,   397-399  (Sc.  T.  S.). 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  317.  Tumults  also  were  stated  to  have 
been  occasioned  by  their  preaching.  (See  citation  in  McCrie, 
Note  GG;  A.  Lang,  Scot.  Hist.  Rev.,  Jan.  1905,  p.  116). 

3  Sir  James  Melville's  Memoirs,  pp.  76,  77. 

4  The  Peace  of  Cambrai,  concluded  on  2nd  April,  1559. 


1559]        The  Scottish  Reformation         195 

Empire.  The  main  objects  of  that  treaty  were  to 
crush  Protestantism  in  Europe,  and,  as  a  means 
to  that  end,  to  depose  the  "illegitimate"  Eliza- 
beth from  her  throne  in  favour  of  the  next  heir, 
Mary  Stuart,  who  had  already  assumed  the  arms 
of  England.  The  persecution  of  the  Huguenots 
was  resumed ;  and  a  special  ambassador  was  sent 
to  Mary  of  Guise  to  communicate  the  policy  of  the 
French  Court,  and  to  induce  her  to  suppress  Pro- 
testantism in  Scotland  "before  the  heretics  should 
spread  any  farther."  The  triumph  of  Romanism 
in  Scotland  would  be  the  prelude  to  the  conquest 
of  England  (where  Protestantism  was  not  firmly 
established)  for  the  Catholic  Church,  and  for  the 
future  King  and  Queen  of  France  and  Scotland.1 
Before  the  conflict,  however,  thus  inaugurated, 
actually  began,  the  protagonist  of  Scottish  Pro- 
testantism had  reappeared  on  the  scene. 


1  Sir  James  Melville's  Memoirs,  as  above;  Tytler,  H.  of  Sc, 
vi.,  109,  no. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

FINAL  RETURN  OF  KNOX  TO  SCOTLAND — THE  CLOS- 
ING   CONFLICT    AND    THE    ESTABLISHMENT 
OF   THE    REFORMATION 

1559-1560 

KNOX  arrived  in  Edinburgh  from  Dieppe  on 
the  2nd  May,  1559,  eight  days  before 
the  date  at  which  the  Reformed  preachers  were 
summoned  to  appear  at  Stirling.  He  was  at 
once  informed  of  the  ecclesiastical  crisis,  and  re- 
solved to  stand  by  his  four  fellow-preachers  "in 
the  brunt  of  the  battle."  *  By  this  time  a 
large  company  of  Reformers  had  been  convened 
at  Dundee  to  support  the  cited  preachers.  On 
the  5th  of  May,  Knox  hastened  to  the  meeting- 
place  and  accompanied  the  assembly  thence  to 
Perth,  where  the  Reformed  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  was  already  in  use.2  There  the  Protest- 
ant host,  already  over  five  thousand  in  number, 
but  mostly  unarmed,  remained;  while  "one  of 
the  most  grave  and  most  wise  barons" — Erskine 

1  Letter  of  Knox  to  Mrs.  Locke  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  21). 

2  Ibid.,  p.  22. 

196 


[1559-1560]     Final  Return  to  Scotland     197 

of  Dun — proceeded  to  Stirling,  in  order  to  acquaint 
the  Regent  with  their  proceedings,  and  to  per- 
suade her,  if  possible,  to  withdraw  the  citation. 
Disconcerted  by  the  prompt  demonstration  of  the 
Reformers  before  she  had  assembled  her  own 
forces,  the  Regent  temporised.  Without  ex- 
pressly agreeing  to  postpone  the  summons,  she 
"solicited  Erskine  to  stay  the  multitude"  from 
coming  to  Stirling,  and  promised  to  "take  some 
better  order."  Erskine  understood  this  promise 
to  mean  that  if  the  Reformers  refrained  from 
advancing  in  force,  she  would  refrain,  meanwhile 
at  least,  from  further  proceedings  against  the 
preachers.  At  his  advice,  accordingly,  the  latter, 
along  with  their  adherents,  remained  at  Perth,  and 
the  Regent  was  saved  from  an  unwelcome  incur- 
sion. Soon  afterwards,  with  what  was  regarded  as 
a  breach  of  faith,  she  proclaimed  the  preachers 
outlaws  for  non-appearance.1  The  proclamation 
was  a  virtual  declaration  of  war.  It  was  now 
indicated  that  Protestant  preachers  were  to  be 
treated  not  as  mere  heretics,  to  be  tried  and  (if 


1  Knox  (H.  of  R.,  i.,  317,  and  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  23),  Buchanan 
(191),  Spottisw.  (i.,  271),  Tytler  (vi.,  115),  Burton  (iv.,  65), 
and  Hume  Brown  (H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  57),  all  represent  the  Re- 
gent as  guilty  of  a  breach  of  faith  in  this  matter.  Andrew 
Lang  (H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  48-50),  relying  mainly  on  Buchanan's 
statement  that  the  Regent  demanded  of  Erskine  "that  he 
should  send  the  multitude  home,"  holds  that  her  promise  was 
"conditional"  as  well  as  "vague."  "She  probably  amused 
Erskine  by  some  promise  of  '  taking  better  order  ' ' '  (Sc.  H. 
R.,  Jan.  1905,  p.  118). 


198  John  Knox  [i559- 

found  guilty)  condemned  after  a  judicial  process, 
but  as  rebels,  to  be  summarily  crushed,  along 
with  their  open  adherents,  by  military  force. 
With  the  help  of  the  hierarchy  and  the  French 
Government,  the  Regent  had  now  raised  a  con- 
siderable army.  It  was  ere  long  increased  to 
eight  thousand  men,1  partly  Scots,  partly  French- 
men; and  her  manifest  policy  was  to  suppress 
Protestantism. 

II.  Meanwhile,  a  further  development  of  the 
conflict  took  place  at  Perth.  A  sermon  "vehe- 
ment against  idolatry,"  i.  e.,  against  the  mass, 
had  been  preached  by  Knox  on  the  nth  of  May 
in  the  ancient  Church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,2 
immediately  after  the  news  of  the  outlawry  had 
been  received.  The  congregation  had  not  dis- 
persed when  a  priest  proceeded  to  celebrate  mass 
at  the  high  altar.  A  youth,  who  expressed  the 
sentiments  of  persons  older  than  himself, — Knox 
describes  him  as  standing  "among  certain  godly 
men," — exclaimed,  "  This  is  intolerable  that,  when 
God  by  His  Word  has  plainly  damned  idolatry,  we 
shall  stand  and  see  it  used  in  despite."  The  irri- 
tated priest  struck  the  boy,  who  retaliated  by 
throwing  a  stone.  The  stone  missed  the  priest, 
but  broke  an  image.     It  was  as  if  a  lighted  match 


1  Hume  Brown,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  58. 

2  The  Church  was  divided  into  the  East  and  the  West 
Church  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  in  the  eighteenth 
century  a  third  or  ' '  Mid  ' '  Church  was  formed. 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         199 

had  been  applied  to  a  heap  of  combustibles.  "  The 
whole  multitude  that  was  about  began  to  cast 
stones,"  and  to  destroy  with  their  hands  "other 
monuments  of  idolatry."  The  report  of  the 
disorder  brought  many  more  on  the  scene — 
not  "gentlemen"  or  "earnest  professors"  of  Re- 
formed doctrine,  as  Knox  is  careful  to  record,  but 
a  "rascal  multitude."  These  undisciplined  sup- 
porters of  the  cause,  finding  the  work. of  destruc- 
tion sufficiently  accomplished  in  the  Church  of 
St.  John,  proceeded  to  deal  similarly,  and  even 
more  violently,  with  the  Franciscan,  Dominican, 
and  Carthusian  monasteries,  until  only  the  walls 
of  the  buildings  remained.1 

Knox  and  those  associated  with  him  were  con- 
scious that  the  doings  of  the  "rascal  multitude" 
were  not  creditable,  and  might  alienate  influential 
sympathy  from  the  Reform  cause.  He  remained, 
accordingly,  in  Perth,  as  he  himself  naively  ex- 
presses it,  to  "instruct"  and,  presumably,  to  re- 
strain "  those  who  were  young  and  rude  in  Christ."2 
His  hand  is  easily  recognised  in  various  missives 
or  manifestos  addressed  at  this  juncture  to  the 
Regent,  to  the  French  ambassador  (D'Oysel),  to 
the    Scottish    nobility,    and    to    the    "pestilent 


1  Knox,  H.  ofR.,  i.,  321-323;  Lesley,  Vernac.  Hist.,  p.  272. 
Knox  gives  in  the  History  his  deliberate  opinion  of  those  who 
took  part  in  the  work  of  destruction.  In  a  letter  written 
soon  after  the  events  related,  he  had  unadvisedly  included 
them  among  the  "  brethren  "  (Laing.  vi.,  23.) 

2  Knox,  i.,  324. 


200  John  Knox  [i5s9- 

prelates  and  their  shavelings . "  In  these  epistles  all 
rebellious  intentions  are  expressly  repudiated ;  the 
claim  for  liberty  of  preaching  and  worship  is  em- 
phasised as  what  the  Protestants  are  bound  at 
all  hazards  to  maintain;  and  the  organisation  of 
the  Congregation  is  declared  to  be  intended  not 
for  offence  but  for  defence.  So  long,  however,  as 
open  "idolatry"  was  preached  and  imposed,  and 
cruel  persecution  continued,  "just  vengeance" 
would  be  executed,  and  a  "contract  of  peace 
never  be  made."  * 

It  was  manifest  to  both  parties  that  a  conflict 
was  inevitable:  yet  neither  side  was  prepared  to 
precipitate  hostilities.  Lord  James  Stewart,  more- 
over, and  the  Earl  of  Argyle,  although  recognised 
as  Reformers,  remained  in  the  Regent's  camp; 
and  their  position  there  exerted  over  both  parties 
a  restraining  influence.  Through  the  mediation 
of  these  two  leaders  a  treaty  was  arranged,  by 
which  Perth  was  surrendered  to  the  Regent's 
forces :  while  its  Protestant  citizens  were  to  have 
freedom  of  worship,  and  the  city  was  to  be  exempt 
"from  the  garrison  of  French  soldiers."  2 

III.  The  truce  was  only  temporary:  the  con- 
flict was  soon  resumed  elsewhere.  From  Perth 
the  Protestant  centre  of  consultation  and  opera- 
tion was  transferred  to  St.  Andrews:  and  again 
Knox  is  in  the  forefront.     At  this  stage — in  the 

1  Knox,  i.,  326-336. 

2  Ibid.,  i.,  340-342. 


Interior  of  West  Church,  Perth,  being  part  of  the  Church  of  St.  John's, 
where  Knox  preached  on  nth  May,  1559.  The  pulpit  no  longer 
exists,  but  its  site  is  marked  by  the  white  cross  in  photograph. 


I56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         201 

end  of  May— the   Earl  of  Argyle,    Lord   James 
Stewart,  and  other  notable  Reformers  departed 
from  the  Regent,  on    the  ground  that  she  had 
failed  to  fulfil  the  terms  of  the  treaty.     Soldiers 
in  the  pay  of  France,  although  of  Scottish  na- 
tionality,   were   retained  in   Perth  and    allowed 
to  assault  members    of   the   congregation.1     An 
assembly  of   Protestant  leaders  was  convened  at 
St.  Andrews  on  the  3rd  of  June.      Among  those 
who  responded  to  the  summons  was  Knox.     He 
preached  on  the  way  at  Anstruther  and  at  Crail: 
he  was  resolved  also  to  preach  in  the  city  of  the 
Primate,  and  to  realise  his  "assured  hope"  when 
he  lay  ill  in  a  French  galley  more  than  ten  years 
before.     The  Archbishop  heard  of  his  intentions, 
and  threatened  to  have  him  saluted  with  a  dozen 
"culverins"  (firelocks).     Many  of  the  Reforming 
leaders  counselled  that  "the  preaching  should  be 
delayed  for  that  day";    but  Knox  pleaded  the 
requirement  of  conscience   and   disregarded  the 
menace.     He  preached  in  the  parish  church  on 
the  "Cleansing  of  the  Temple,"  not  only  without 
molestation,  but  with  so  much  effect  that  the 
magistrates,  supported   by  the    majority  of  the 
citizens,  proceeded  "  with  expedition  "  to  remove 
"all  monuments  of  idolatry"  from  the  Cathedral 
and  other  churches  of  the  city.2 

1  Knox,  i.,  346;   Spottisw.,  i.,  274,  275. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  348,  349.  Simultaneously  the  monas- 
teries of  the  Greyfriars  and  Blackfriars  were  destroyed,  only 
the  walls  being  left  standing ;   but  this  appears  to  have  been 


202  John  Knox  [i559- 

The  Primate  could  hardly  have  been  expected 
to  submit  tamely  to  such  a  defiance  of  his  au- 
thority. He  repaired  to  the  Regent,  who  by  this 
time  had  reached  Falkland  with  an  army  led  by 
D'Oysel  and  Chatelherault.  She  proceeded  to- 
wards St.  Andrews  to  attack  the  Reformers, 
and  actual  warfare  again  appeared  imminent ;  but 
when  a  force  of  three  thousand  men  under  Argyle 
and  Lord  James  Stewart  barred  the  way  at  Cupar, 
a  second  truce  or  "  assurance"  for  eight  days  was 
concluded,  nominally  with  a  view  to  a  friendly 
conference,  but  really  in  order  to  cover  a  with- 
drawal of  the  Regent  to  the  south  of  the  Forth. 
During  this  interval  the  "purging"  of  churches 
and  monasteries  continued;  among  other  build- 
ings  dealt   with  was   the    Abbey    of    Lindores.1 

IV.  At  the  expiry  of  the  truce  on  the  ist  of 
June,  the  Reformers  took  possession  of  Perth, 
which  surrendered  after  a  brief  resistance  2 ;  the 
citizens  being  for  the  most  part  in  sympathy  with 
the  Protestant  movement.  A  few  days  after- 
wards, against  the  will  of  Knox  and  many  others, 
the  Abbey  of  Scone  was  destroyed  by  fire  3 ;  Stir- 

the  work  neither  of  the  Reformers  nor  of  the  magistrates, 
but  of  the  "rascal  multitude"  (see  Hume  Brown,  H.  of  Sc, 
ii.,  60).  "There  is  no  contemporary  evidence  to  prove  that 
the  Cathedral  was  demolished  at  the  Reformation "  (Hay- 
Fleming,  St.  Andrews,  p.  51). 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  353;   Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  26. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,i.,  357~359- 

3  Ibid.,  i.,  359-362.  "Whereat  [writes  Knox]  no  small 
number  of   us  were  offended."      He   and  other   Protestant 


LI- 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland          203 

ling  was  occupied  by  a  military  force,  and  all 
"monuments  of  idolatry"  were  removed  from  its 
churches ;  Linlithgow  Abbey  was  similarly  purged. 
Before  the  end  of  the  month  the  main  body  of 
armed  Protestants,  under  Argyle  and  Lord  James 
Stewart,  entered  Edinburgh,  where  a  mob  had 
already  assailed  the  Blackfriars'  and  Greyfriars' 
monasteries,  and  "had  left  nothing  but  bare 
walls,  yea,  not  so  much  as  door  or  window."  T 
Within  a  few  days  the  Reformed  forces,  after  the 
arrival  of  contingents,  amounted  to  six  thousand.2 
It  was  a  critical  juncture.  The  destructive  doings 
of  excited  and  irresponsible  multitudes  tended  to 
alienate  influential  sympathy  from  the  Reform 
cause ;  while  the  Regent  and  her  partisans  charged 
the  Protestants  with  cloaking  political  revolution 
under  so-called  religious  reformation.3  To  Knox 
was  committed  the  task  of  publicly  explaining  and 
vindicating  the  Reformers'  position.  On  the  very 
day  of  their  arrival  in  Edinburgh,  he  preached  in 

leaders  appear  to  have  done  "what  in  them  lay  to  have 
stayed  the  fury  of  the  multitude."  The  notorioiis  profligacy 
of  Bishop  Hepburn  of  Moray,  who  also  held  the  abbacy  of 
Scone,  and  was  there  at  the  time;  the  belief  that  "by  his 
counsel  was  Walter  Milne  put  to  death";  and  the  evil  repu- 
tation of  the  abbey  as  regards  tolerance  of  immorality,  com- 
bined to  stimulate  popular  violence.  An  old  woman,  who 
lived  in  the  neighbourhood  declared  the  burning  to  be  a  judg- 
ment of  God,  and  testified  that  "since  my  remembrance  this 
place  hath  been  nothing  else  but  a  den  of  whore-mongers." 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  362,  363;  Calderwood,  H.  of  the  Kirk, 
i.,  474,  475. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  35.  3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  I,  363. 


204  John  Knox  [i559- 

St.  Giles',  and,  as  the  Regent  herself  declared, 
"took  the  greatest  pains  to  defend  the  chief  sup- 
porters of  the  religion  from  the  charge  of  aiming 
at  the  Crown,  and  of  having  any  other  object  in 
view,  except  the  advancement  of  the  Gospel."  ' 
In  a  private  letter,  written  prior  to  the  delivery 
of  the  sermon,  Knox  states  "that  we  mean  no 
tumult,  no  alteration  of  authority,  but  only  the 
reformation  of  religion  and  suppression  of  idol- 
atry." 2  The  discourse,  accordingly,  was  followed 
up  by  a  public  manifesto,  declaring  that  "in  all 
civil  and  political  matters ' '  the  Reformers  will  be 
"obedient  subjects";  and  that  the  entire  object 
they  had  in  view  was  liberty  of  conscience,  the 
right  ministration  of  Word  and  sacraments,  de- 
liverance from  persecution,  and — here  the  patri- 
otic element  comes  into  view — removal  of  the 
"burthen  intolerable  of  the  French  soldiery."  3 

The  Regent  continued  to  treat  the  Protestants 
as  rebels;  and  after  receiving  assurance  that 
Lord  Erskine,4  the  governor  of  Edinburgh  Castle, 


1  Teulet,  Papiers  de  Vetat  relatijs  a  Vhistoire  de  I'Ecosse, 
i.,  325;  P.  Forbes,  Pub.  Transact,  in  Reign  of  Elizabeth,  i., 
180.  At  a  later  stage  the  Protestant  lords  contemplated  the 
propriety  of  electing  the  Earl  of  Arran  or  Lord  James  Stewart 
as  regent  in  the  room  of  Mary  of  Guise  (St.  Pap.  Eliz.  Foreign, 
i.,  446). 

2  Letter  to  Mrs.  Locke  (Laing,  W .  of  K.,  vi.,  30). 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  365-367. 

4  Lord  Erskine  (afterwards  Regent  Mar)  was  one  of  those 
who  "repaired"  to  Knox  in  1556  (ibid.,  p.  249),  and  who 
invited  the  Reformer  to  return  to  Scotland  in  1557.     While 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         205 

would  not  be  antagonistic  to  her,  she  advanced  on 
the  city  with  an  increased  force.  The  Reformers 
at  first  resolved  to  offer  resistance;  but  the  atti- 
tude of  Lord  Erskine,  along  with  the  diminution 
of  their  ranks  at  the  approach  of  harvest,  led,  on 
the  24th  of  July,  to  an  agreement  between  the  two 
parties  to  be  valid  until  the  10th  of  January. 
The  army  of  the  Congregation  consented  to 
evacuate  the  capital,  and  to  refrain  from  injury 
to  "  Kirks"  or  "  Kirkmen, "  on  the  understanding 
that  the  Protestant  citizenship  and  their  preachers 
were  unmolested  in  their  worship.  On  neither 
side,  however,  was  this  "appointment"  regarded 
as  other  than  a  temporary  pacification.  The 
Regent  waited  for  French  reinforcements,  and 
the  Reformers  for  assurance  of  more  effective 
support  from  their  countrymen  or  from  England, 
before  continuing  the  conflict  and  bringing  it  to  a 
decisive  conclusion.1 


favourable  to  the  Reformation  from  the  ecclesiastical  stand- 
point, he  was  among  those  who  were  afraid  of  civil  war.  He 
refused  to  let  either  Regent  or  Reformers  obtain  possession  of 
the  Castle  of  Edinburgh ;  but  his  attitude  during  this  period, 
although  nominally  neutral,  was  more  friendly  towards  the 
Regent  than  towards  the  Protestants.  See  "History  of  the 
Estate  of  Scotland  from  15 59-1 666,"  in  Wodrow  Misc.,  p.  64; 
Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  375. 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  378-382;  Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  vi.,  145. 
The  agreement  of  the  24th  of  July,  which  Knox  gives  in  full, 
contains  no  clause  about  the  dismissal  of  French  soldiers 
from  the  country:  but  the  Reformers  appear  to  have  alleged 
that  the  Regent,  on  this  occasion,  promised  to  dispense  with 
such  foreign  service;   and  when,  instead  of  this,  she  received 


206  John  Knox  [iS59- 

V.  By  this  time  Knox  had  been  appointed 
minister  of  St.  Giles' ;  but  his  counsel  and  service 
were  too  valuable  for  the  leaders  of  the  Reform 
movement  to  lose,  and  on  the  26th  of  July  he 
departed  from  Edinburgh  with  the  Protestant 
host,  leaving  John  Willock  in  his  room.1     During 

fresh  reinforcements  from  France,  they  accused  her  of  break- 
ing an  engagement  which  she  denied  having  made  (Knox, 
H.  of  R.,  i.,  397,  398,  413;  St.  Pap.  Eliz.  For.,  i.,  409,  446; 
Sadler,  St.  Pap.,  i.,  430,  431).  Andrew  Lang  (Sc.  Hist.  R., 
Jan.,  1 90S,  p.  128)  charges  Knox  with  making  "statements 
false  and  deliberately  misleading  about  the  agreement,  par- 
ticularly at  an  interview  with  Croft,  Governor  of  Berwick, 
who  certainly  understood  Knox  to  mean  that  a  promise  to 
dismiss  the  French  was  connected  with  the  compact  (St.  Pap. , 
Eliz.,  i.,  446;  Bain,  Cat.,  i.,  237).  But,  assuming  that  Croft 
understood  Knox  rightly,  (1)  if  the  latter  deliberately  mis- 
informed the  former,  it  is  strange  that  he  should  have 
supplied  so  carefully  in  his  History  the  proof  of  his  own  false- 
hood. (2)  Knox's  view  of  the  significance  of  the  agreement 
was  shared  by  other  Reformers.  Was  there  a  general  con- 
spiracy of  mendacity?  (3)  There  is  a  possible  solution  of  the 
difficulty  without  impugning  the  honesty  of  either  the  Re- 
gent or  the  Reformers.  Chatelherault,  who  then  still  ad- 
hered to  the  Queen-dowager,  acted  as  intermediary  between 
her  and  the  Protestant  lords.  In  his  anxiety  to  effect  an 
agreement,  he  may  have  assured  the  Reformers  rather  too 
confidently  that  if  they  accepted  loyally  the  terms  of  the 
compact,  the  Regent  would  be  able  to  send  away  the  unpopu- 
lar French  auxiliaries;  and  this  assurance  may  have  been 
interpreted  as  involving  a  promise  by  Mary  such  as  she  never 
intended  to  give. 

1  Knox  was  publicly  elected  by  ' '  the  congregation  of  Edin- 
burgh" on  7th  July  (Wodrow  Miscellany,  p.  63).  Willock 
had  arrived  in  Scotland  from  Friesland  in  October,  1558,  and 
had  preached  in  the  interval  at  Edinburgh,  Dundee,  Ayr,  and 
other  places  (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  256;  note,  388). 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         207 

the  autumn  of  1559,  Knox  takes  the  leading 
part  on  the  Reform  side  in  religion  and  even 
in  politics.  His  chief  task  was  to  enlighten 
the  people  as  to  the  real  nature  and  import- 
ance of  the  conflict  on  which  the  Protestants 
had  been  constrained  to  enter.  In  a  letter 
written  from  St.  Andrews  on  the  2nd  of  Septem- 
ber, he  speaks  of  having  "travelled  through  the 
most  part  of  this  realm  "  ;  he  declares  with  thank- 
fulness that  "men  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  em- 
brace the  truth";  that  "the  trumpet  soundeth 
over  all  the  land"  ;  and  that  a  "ministry  is  es- 
tablished" in  Edinburgh,  St.  Andrews,  Dundee, 
Perth,  Brechin,  Stirling,  and  Ayr.1  About  the 
same  date,  Sadler,  the  English  ambassador,  testi- 
fies that "  the  preachers  have  so  won  the  people  to 
their  devotion,  their  power  is  now  double  that 
[which]  it  was  in  the  cause  of  religion."  2 

Knox  had  other  work,  less  congenial,  on  hand 
during  this  period  of  truce.  The  substantial  sup- 
port, in  the  form  both  of  money  and  military  force, 
which  the  Regent  and  the  Catholics  were  receiving 
from  France,  must — so  it  was  considered — be 
balanced  by  like  support  being  secured  for  the 
Reformers  from  England :  and  Knox  was  regarded 
as,  on  the  whole,  the  fittest  person  to  conduct  the 
necessary  negotiations.  He  had  served  effec- 
tively the  cause  of  the  English  Reformation ;  he 


1  Letter. to  Mrs.  Locke,  in  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  78. 

2  State  Papers,  i.,  431. 


208  John  Knox  [i559- 

had  undergone  peril  and  endured  exile  among 
English  churchmen  during  Mary  Tudor's  reign; 
and  although  his  "  First  Blast "  had  prejudiced 
him  in  the  eyes  of  Elizabeth,  her  Prime  Minister, 
Cecil,  and  the  ambassadors  to  the  French  and 
Scottish  Courts,  Throgmorton  and  Sadler,  were 
fully  aware  of  his  integrity  and  influence.1  The 
Reformer  accordingly  was  instructed  to  propose 
to  the  English  Government  a  league  for  the  de- 
liverance of  Scotland  from  the  double  incubus  of 
Roman  superstition  and  French  interference.2  In 
the  beginning  of  August,  he  conferred  at  Berwick 
with  Sir  James  Croft,  governor  of  that  town, 
and  was  prepared  to  proceed  to  Stamford  in  Lin- 
colnshire, where  an  interview  between  Cecil  and 
himself  had  been  arranged.  But  his  arrival  in  Ber- 
wick had  been  observed  by  spies  and  reported  to 
the  Regent ;  the  Government  of  England  did  not 
yet  see  its  way  to  an  avowed  alliance  with  Scottish 
Protestants  which  would  have  affected  prejudici- 
ally English  relations  with  France  and  Spain ;  and 
Knox  returned  home  with  no  more  than  a  letter 
from  Cecil,  in  which  the  latter  offered  moral  sup- 
port to  the  Scottish  Reformers,  but  refrained  from 
committing  his  country  to  actual  intervention. 


1  See  letter  from  Throgmorton  to  Cecil,  7th  June,  1559,  in 
Forbes's  Public  Transactions,  i.,  119.  "Forasmuch  as  Knox 
is  now  in  Scotland  in  as  great  credit  as  ever  man  was  there, 
it  were  well  done  not  to  use  him  otherwise  than  may  be  for 
the  advancement  of  the  Queen's  Majesty's  service." 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  56:   Teulet,  i.,  326. 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         209 

It  was  due,  however,  partly  to  Knox's  plain 
speaking  in  connection  with  these  negotiations  that 
England  eventually  took  the  step  which  the  in- 
terests of  both  nations  demanded.  He  set  before 
Queen  Elizabeth,  through  her  ministers,  the  real 
aim  of  France  in  its  endeavour  to  establish  a 
paramount  influence  in  Scotland.  That  influence 
was  not  an  end  but  a  means — a  means  of  strength- 
ening the  position  of  France  as  regards  England. 
Now  (so  Knox  contended),  while  there  was  no 
reason  to  question  the  sincerity  of  the  Reformed 
and  of  the  anti-French  party  in  Scotland,  still 
French  subsidies  on  the  one  side  and  Scottish 
impoverishment  on  the  other  were  likely  to  issue 
in  the  triumph  of  the  Regent  unless  help  arrived 
from  England  for  the  Protestants.1  By  the  middle 
of  August,  as  the  outcome  of  the  negotiations  con- 
ducted by  Knox,  the  English  Government  resolved 
to  enter  privately  into  the  alliance  for  which  the 
Scottish  Reform  party  pleaded,  and  it  inaugur- 
ated the  league  with  a  subsidy  of  £3000. 2  The 
assistance  was  comparatively  small;  but  it  con- 
vinced the  Protestant  leaders  that  England  had 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  60-69.  Cecil  was  doubtless  well 
aware  of  the  designs  of  France,  but  it  strengthened  his  hands, 
in  his  communications  with  Elizabeth,  to  have  the  French 
policy  plainly  declared  by  other  testimony. 

2  Sadler,  St.  Pap.,  i.,  387.  The  resolution  was  come  to, 
indeed,  before  the  letter  of  Knox  to  Cecil  was  received; 
but  what  the  Reformer  wrote  to  the  Prime  Minister  was, 
in  effect,  what  had  previously  been  set  forth  by  him  at 
Berwick  to  Sir  James  Croft,  and  transmitted  to  headquarters. 

14 


2io  John  Knox  [i559- 

at  length  recognised  their  cause  as  also  hers ;  and 
it  encouraged  them  to  maintain  a  conflict  in  which 
England  could  not  afford  to  allow  them  to  be 
worsted. 

VI.  In  one  other  sphere  the  judgment  and 
courage  of  Knox  advanced  the  Protestant  cause. 
Hitherto  the  Reformers  had  refrained  from  any 
formal  renunciation  of  the  Regent's  authority; 
they  had  taken  up  the  position  of  men  who  had 
been  driven  into  armed  opposition  on  religious 
grounds  because  freedom  of  preaching  and  of  wor- 
ship had  been  withheld.  Mary's  own  procedure 
at  this  juncture  supplied  an  adequate  occasion 
for  the  Protestant  leaders  throwing  off,  or  at  least 
suspending,  their  allegiance  on  patriotic  grounds. 
We  have  seen  that,  not  without  good  reason,  the 
fear  of  actual  or  virtual  annexation  by  France 
had  been  awakened  in  Scotland.  On  the  ioth  of 
July,  the  Dauphin,  on  whom  the  Scottish  Crown 
Matrimonial  had  been  bestowed,  became  King  of 
France.  He  bore  also  the  title  of  King  of  Scot- 
land; and  in  the  event  of  Mary  Stuart's  death, 
especially  if  she  left  no  issue,  then,  with  a  French 
Regent  on  the  throne  and  a  French  army  in  the 
country,  the  danger  to  Scottish  independence 
would  obviously  be  real  and  imminent.  On  the 
19th  of  September,  accordingly,  the  Lords  of  the 
Congregation,  with  whom,  by  this  time,  Chatel- 
herault  had  allied  himself,  demanded  the  dismissal 
of  foreign  troops.    The  Regent  declined  to  comply; 


,S6o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         211 

and  when  the  demand  was  repeated  a  month  later, 
the  refusal  was  renewed.  At  a  convention  of  nobles 
and  representatives  of  burghs,  the  propriety  of  re- 
nouncing allegiance  was  discussed.  "  It  was  thought 
expedient  that  the  judgment  of  the  preachers  should 
be  required . ' '  Knox  and  Willock  were  summoned 
to  the  meeting.  They  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that 
as  the  Regent  had  ''denied  her  chief  duty  to  the 
subjects  of  this  Realm,  which  was  to  minister 
justice  to  them  indifferently,  to  preserve  their 
liberties  from  invasion  of  strangers,  and  to  suffer 
them  to  have  God's  Word  freely  and  openly 
preached  among  them,"  therefore  "for  the  pre- 
servation of  the  Commonwealth,"  the  "  born 
counsellors,  nobility,  and  barons  of  the  Realm" 
might  "justly  deprive  her  of  all  regiment  and  au- 
thority." Knox  took  care,  however,  to  require 
that  "no  such  sentence  be  pronounced  against 
her,  but  that,  upon  her  known  and  open  repent- 
ance, and  upon  her  conversion  to  the  Common- 
wealth, place  should  be  granted  to  her  of  regress 
to  the  same  honours  from  which  she  justly  might 
be  deprived."  '  Allegiance  was  to  be  suspended, 
not  permanently  withdrawn.  The  advice  of  the 
preachers  commended  itself  to  the  Lords  who,  on 
the  23rd  of  October,  resolved  to  suspend  Mary  of 
Guise  from  the  regency .  They  emphasised  in  their 
protestation  her  "planting  of  strangers"  in  the 
realm,  her  "sending  continually  [to  France]  for 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  442,  443- 


212  John  Knox  [i559- 

greater  forces,"  and  her  evident  purpose  to  "sup- 
press the  liberty  of  our  native  country,"  and  "to 
make  us  and  our  posterity  slaves  to  strangers  for 
ever."  Such  a  policy,  it  was  declared,  "  is  intoler- 
able in  free  countries,"  and  "prejudicial  to  our 
Sovereign  Lady  [Mary  Stuart]  and  her  heirs." ■ 
It  was  a  straightforward  and  patriotic  policy; 
and  if  it  deprived  the  Reformers  of  the  support 
of  some  who  shrank  from  the  peril  of  civil  war,  it 
won  the  sympathy  of  others  who  were  determined 
to  prevent  Scotland  from  becoming  a  province  of 
France.  It  helped,  apparently,  to  decide  at  least 
one  distinguished  waverer.  A  week  after  the 
withdrawal  of  allegiance  had  been  declared,  Mait- 
land  of  Lethington  left  the  service  of  the  Regent 
and  rejoined  the  ranks  of  his  former  associates  in 
the  Reformation  movement.2 

Knox,  of  course,  had  other  reasons  for  resist- 
ing Mary  of  Guise  than  the  fear  of  French  en- 
croachment on  Scottish  liberty.  In  his  eyes  the 
despotism  of  Rome  was  a  greater  evil  than  the 
domination  of  France.  But  the  national  senti- 
ment by  which,  from  the  outset,  he  was  charac- 
terised never  departed  from  him.  He  was  a  Scot 
to  the  core;  and  we  have  no  reason  to  believe 
that  the  patriotic  element  which  had  entered  into 
the  Protestant  policy  was  regarded  by  him  with  in- 
difference.   When  national  independence  appeared 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,   i.,  444,  445. 

2  Ibid.,  i.,  463. 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         213 

to  be  at  stake,  the  religious  Reformer  became  also 
the  Scottish  patriot.  Knox's  solicitude  for  his 
country  at  this  time  is  attested  by  three  private 
letters  written  soon  after  the  5th  of  November, 
when  the  Protestants  were  defeated  in  a  skirmish 
near  Holyrood  by  the  Regent's  troops,  newly  re- 
inforced by  a  fresh  contingent  from  France.  To 
Sir  William  Cecil,  on  the  18th  of  November,  he 
describes  the  gloomy  outlook  ''unless  greater  force 
remove  the  Frenchmen."  *  To  Sir  James  Croft,  a 
month  later,  he  writes  anxiously  that  "the  French 
have  on  hand  some  hasty  and  great  enterprise " ; 
"for  they  have  shipped  much  ordnance."2  To 
Mrs.  Locke,  a  few  days  afterwards,  he  declares  that 
"one  day  of  trouble  since  my  last  arrival  in  Scot- 
land [referring  to  the  5th  of  November]  hath 
more  pierced  my  heart  than  all  the  torment  of 
the  galleys."  3  Amid  heavy  burdens  of  public 
anxiety  at  this  period,  Knox  had  the  alleviation 
of  domestic  comfort.  In  September  1559  his  wife 
and  children  arrived  in  Scotland.  In  spite  of  poor 
health,  she  appears  to  have  supported  him  not  only 
with  her  sympathy,  but  with  practical  help  as  his 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  99. 

2  Ibid.,  vi.,  102. 

3  Ibid.,  vi.,  104. 

4  Ibid.  In  his  letter  to  Mrs.  Locke,  above  quoted,  Knox 
mentions  incidentally  that  his  wife  was  unable  to  find  some 
extract;  and  he  states  in  explanation  that  "her  rest  hath 
been  so  un restful  since  her  arriving  here,  that  scarcely  could 
she  tell  on  the  morrow  what  she  wrote  at  night." 


214  John  Knox  [I5S9- 

VII.  The  defeat  of  the  Congregation  by  the 
French  forces,  the  attitude  of  the  Governor  of  the 
Castle,  who  "would  promise  unto  us  no  favours," 
and  the  desertion  of  many  of  the  rank  and  file  in 
the  Protestant  host,  who  ''did  so  steal  away  that 
the  wit  of  man  could  not  stay  them,"  led  to  a 
pause  in  the  conflict.  The  apparent  lukewarm- 
ness  at  this  crisis  of  many  who,  as  the  event 
proved,  sympathised  with  the  Reformation  move- 
ment, was  the  result  probably  of  various  causes. 
Knox  mentions  the  "impoverishment"  of  the 
leaders  who  were  unable  on  that  account  to  main- 
tain an  army.  It  is  not  unlikely,  also,  that  the 
covetous  motives  of  some  lay  promoters  of  the 
Reformation  may  already  have  become  manifest, 
and  thus  have  cooled  popular  sympathy.  Many, 
moreover,  who  were  Protestants  by  conviction, 
may  have  clung  to  the  hope  of  a  pacific  Reforma- 
tion, or  have  shrunk  from  a  conflict  in  which 
men  might  have  to  fight  against  kinsmen  and 
friends.  Dispirited,  accordingly,  through  defeat, 
and  still  more  through  inadequate  national  sup- 
port, the  Reformers  retired  from  Edinburgh  im- 
mediately after  the  engagement  at  Holyrood  and 
took  up  their  quarters  in  Stirling.1  It  was  "a 
dolorous  departure,"  writes  Knox:  the  situation 
seemed  desperate;  but  he  was  not  the  man  to 
despair  of  what  he  believed  to  be  a  righteous 
cause.     On  the  day  after  the  arrival  in  Stirling 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  464,  465;  ii.,  3. 


I56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         215 

he  preached  in  the  Greyfriars'  Church  a  sermon 
(from  Psalm  lxxx.)  in  which  he  confesses  char- 
acteristically that  some  of  them  had  good  reason 
to  humble  themselves  before  God  for  trusting  in 
"their  own  strength  and  an  arm  of  flesh" ;  while 
others  of  them  had  been,  up  till  recent  days,  "a 
great  comfort  to  their  enemies,  and  a  great  dis- 
courage" to  themselves.1  Nevertheless,  he  de- 
clares emphatically  his  conviction  that  their 
"cause,  in  spite  of  Satan,  shall  prevail,  for  it  is 
the  eternal  truth  of  the  Eternal  God."  2  Knox 
himself  states  that  after  that  sermon  "the  minds 
of  men  began  wondrously  to  be  erected";  and 
that  this  idea  was  no  mere  outcome  of  self-esteem 
is  indicated  by  the  testimony  of  contemporaries,3 
and  by  the  resolution  of  the  Council  of  the  Con- 
gregation that  very  afternoon  to  continue  the 
conflict,  and  to  apply  again  to  the  English  Gov- 
ernment for  assistance.4  The  fresh  application 
to    England,    especially    when    a   sovereign    like 


1  On  the  1 8th  November  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  ioo), 
Knox  had  already  discovered  that  "amongst  us  were  such 
as  more  sought  the  purse  than  Christ's  glory." 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  471,  472. 

3  Buchanan  (H.  of  Sc,  xvi.,  196)  writes  Knox's  "bright 
and  clear  discourse"  (luculentam  concionem) ,  and  of  "his  rais- 
ing the  minds  of  many  into  a  sure  hope  of  speedy  deliver- 
ance." The  Historie  of  the  Estate  of  Scotland  from  1559  to 
1566  represents  the  lords  at  Stirling  as  "taking  new  courage, 
partly  being  persuaded  by  a  godly  sermon  made  by  John 
Knox"   (Wodrow  Misc.,  p.  72). 

4  Knox,  H.  of  R.,l,  473- 


216  John  Knox  [1559- 

Elizabeth  had  to  be  approached,  required  a  high  de- 
gree of  diplomatic  sagacity.  Diplomacy  was  not 
Knox's  strong  point :  he  was  better  fitted  for  bold 
testimony  than  for  skilful  manoeuvre :  and  he  re- 
garded not  as  a  disappointment,  but  as  a  relief, 
the  supersession  of  himself  on  this  occasion  by 
Maitland  as  ambassador  from  the  Congregation  to 
the  English  Government.  For  such  an  office  Mait- 
land was  specially  qualified  both  by  natural  gifts 
and  by  experience;  while  Knox  had  little  apti- 
tude for  it,  and  less  inclination.1 

VIII.  During  Maitland's  absence  in  England, 
Knox  made  St.  Andrews  his  headquarters.  He 
writes  from  there  on  the  18th  of  November  with 
mingled  feelings;  they  "  hope  deliverance"  but 
"stand  universally  in  great  fear."  2  The  fear 
was  well  founded.  Fresh  reinforcements  were  ar- 
riving from  France.  On  Christmas  Eve  a  strong 
detachment  was  sent  to  surprise  and  overwhelm 
the  Reformers  at  Stirling,  and  these  escaped 
capture  only  by  hasty  flight.3  St.  Andrews  was 
the  centre  next  threatened;  and  although  the 
Protestants,  with  a  little  army  of  six  hundred, 

1  Diplomacy  without  dissimulation  is  difficult :  and  even 
the  straightforward  Knox  once  deflected  from  strict  honesty 
in  his  negotiations  with  England.  He  met  the  plea  of  Eng- 
lish statesmen,  that  military  support  of  Scottish  Protestants 
would  lead  to  war  with  France,  by  suggesting  that  they 
might  send  a  thousand  men  to  Scotland  and  then  "declare 
them  rebels!"  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  90,  94). 

2 Ibid.,  vi.,  10 1. 

3  "Hist,  of  the  Estate  of  Scot.,"  in  Wodrow  Misc.,  74,  75. 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         217 

valiantly  withstood  the  advance  of  four  thousand 
Frenchmen  at  Kinghorn,  at  Kirkcaldy,  at  Cupar 
(where  Knox  inspirited  them  with  a  "  comfortable 
service"),1  and  finally  at  Dysart,  the  annihilation 
of  the  Reformed  forces  in  Fife  appeared  immin- 
ent. At  this  crisis,  however,  the  first-fruits  of 
Maitland's  embassy  were  reaped.  On  the  25th 
of  January  an  English  squadron  appeared  in  the 
Forth,  seized  two  French  vessels  which  carried 
provisions  for  the  Regent's  army,  and  blocked  the 
estuary  against  the  advance  of  ships  from  France 
with  additional  reinforcements.  The  tide  had 
turned.  The  French  army,  which  had  approached 
within  six  miles  of  St.  Andrews,  "  retired  more 
in  one  day  than  they  had  advanced  in  ten."  2 
Queen  Elizabeth  and  her  Government  had  at 
length  fully  realised  the  danger  to  England  of 
French  predominance  in  Scotland:  and  this 
timely  appearance  of  the  English  fleet  was  fol- 
lowed up,  in  the  end  of  February,  at  Berwick,  by 
a  "  contract"  between  the  two  countries.  It  was 
agreed  that  a  "convenient  aid  of  men  of  war  on 
horse  and  foot"  should  be  despatched  without 
delay  from  England  to  assist  the  Scots  in  driv- 
ing out  the  French;  the  Scots,  on  the  other  hand, 

1  He  preached  appropriately  from  John  vi.,  on  the  disci- 
ples in  the  midst  of  the  sea  while  Jesus  was  on  the  mountain. 
"The  fourth  watch,"  he  said,  "is  not  yet  come";  they 
"must  abide  a  little";  but  he  was  "assuredly  persuaded 
that  God  shall  deliver  us"  (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  8). 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  108. 


218  John  Knox  [i559- 

undertaking  to  perform  a  like  service  for  Eliza- 
beth in  the  event  of  an  invasion  of  England.1 

IX.  The  Regent  and  her  party  became  now 
defenders  instead  of  assailants.  Her  army,  on 
tidings  being  received  of  the  approach  of  the  Eng- 
lish, retired  within  the  fortifications  of  Leith. 
She  herself,  along  with  the  Primate  and  other 
dignitaries,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  was  admitted 
by  Lord  Erskine  into  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh.2 
Meanwhile,  on  the  2nd  of  April,  1560,  the 
English  army,  under  the  command  of  Lord  Gray 
de  Wilton,  had  crossed  the  Border  and  was  met 
two  days  later  at  Prestonpans  by  the  Scottish 
forces  under  Chatelherault,  Lord  James  Stewart, 
and  other  leaders  of  the  Congregation.3  Such  a 
sight  had  never  before  been  witnessed.  The  an- 
cient alliance  between  Scotland  and  France  had 
been  broken,  through  the  selfish  policy  of  the 
latter  to  make  Scotland  a  tool  for  the  promotion 
of  French  interests;  the  alliance  was  destined 
never  to  be  renewed  until  modern  times.  The 
ancient  quarrel  with  England,  although  not  for- 
gotten (for  the  English  army  received  no  warm  re- 
ception from  the   people),  was  subordinated  to 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  47-49;  Wodrow  Misc.,  pp.  79,  80. 
The  English  contingent  amounted  to  ten  thousand ;  and  the 
Scots  bound  themselves  to  furnish  England,  if  invaded,  with 
"two  thousand  horsemen  and  two  thousand  footmen." 

2  Ibid.,  ii.,    58;  Lesley,  H.  of  Sc.   (Sc.  Text  Soc.   ed.),  ii., 

432-435- 

3  Knox,  H.  ofR.f  ii.,  57,  58. 


iS6o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         219 

patriotic  as  well  as  religious  considerations, — a 
prelude  to  the  more  cordial  and  permanent  union 
of  later  days. 

Before  the  united  army  left  Prestonpans  to  lay 
siege  to  Leith,  a  final  appeal  was  addressed  to  the 
Regent.  She  was  asked  to  render  the  armed  co- 
operation of  England  unnecessary  by  the  dismissal 
of  those  French  soldiers  whose  continued  presence, 
it  was  declared,  constrained  the  Reformers  to  seek 
and  obtain  English  assistance.1  No  satisfactory 
answer,  however,  at  this  stage  was  expected ;  and 
on  the  27th  of  April  a  "  Band  "  was  signed  by  lead- 
ing Scottish  nobles  and  gentry.  In  accordance 
with  the  patriotic  character  which  the  Protest- 
ant movement  had  now  assumed,  they  pledged 
themselves  not  only,  as  they  had  formerly  done, 
to  "set  forward  the  Reformation  of  religion, 
that  the  truth  of  God's  Word  may  have  free 
passage  within  the  realm,  with  due  adminis- 
tration of  the  sacraments";  but  to  "take  part 
with  the  Queen  of  England's  army  for  the  expul- 
sion of  the  [French]  strangers,  oppressors  of  our 
liberty,"  and  for  the  government  of  the  country 
"under  obedience  of  the  King  and  Queen,  our 
Sovereigns,  by  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  coun- 
try and  born  men  of  the  land."  2 


1  Buchanan,  xvi.,  197. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  61,  62.  This  Band,  which  Knox 
gives  in  full,  was  probably  drawn  up  by  himself;  the  putting 
of  the  religious  aim  of  the  conflict  in  the  forefront  betokens 
his  hand.     The  signatures  include  forty-nine  leading  nobles 


220  John  Knox  [i559- 

X.  The  siege  of  Leith  proved  to  be  an  arduous 
undertaking.  The  "ordnance  of  the  town"  gave 
great  annoyance  to  the  assailants;  whereas  the 
breaches  made  in  the  walls  during  the  day  were 
promptly  repaired  by  the  French  soldiery  during 
the  night.  In  the  skirmishes  outside  the  walls, 
on  the  occasion  of  sudden  sallies,  the  Frenchmen 
had,  on  the  whole,  the  advantage.1  Amid  the  in- 
effectiveness of  the  Scottish  military  forces,  on 
both  sides,  the  issue  appeared  to  depend  mainly 
on  whether  France  or  England  would  be  the 
more  ready  to  despatch  reinforcements.  But 
at  this  time  the  French  Government,  owing 
to  the  unsettled  condition  of  affairs  at  home,2 
grudged  men,  while  Queen  Elizabeth,  as  on 
former  occasions,  grudged  money.  England 
and  France  both  desired  a  termination  of  the 
conflict;  and  accordingly  commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governments  of  each  nation  to 
meet  in  Edinburgh  and  to  treat  for  peace.  Before 
they  met  on  the  16th  of  June,  two  hindrances  in 
the  way  of  pacification  had  been  removed.  On 
the  one  hand,  the  false  position  into  which  the 

and  gentry,  among  whom  were  Lord  James  Stewart,  Chatel- 
herault,  Argyle,  Glencairn,  and  Rothes.  The  adhesion  of  sev- 
eral prominent  Catholics,  as  Lords  Huntly  and  Somerville, 
notwithstanding  the  Protestant  character  of  the  document, 
indicates  the  strength  of  the  patriotic  and  anti-French  senti- 
ment which  the  Regent's  policy  of  dependence  on  France 
(apart  from  the  religious  question)  had  fostered. 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  59,  60,  66,  67. 

2  The  conspiracy  at  Amboise  had  intervened. 


iS6o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         221 

Regent  had  drifted  by  her  subservience  to  French 
policy  and  her  employment  of  French  forces;  on 
the  other  hand,  the  attitude  of  rebellion  which 
the  Reformers  had  been  constrained  to  adopt 
through  the  necessity  of  suspending,  on  patriotic 
as  well  as  religious  grounds,  their  allegiance  to 
the  Regent — these  two  causes  of  strife  had  been 
terminated  by  the  death  of  Mary  of  Guise  on  the 
10th  of  June.  When  her  end  approached,  she 
sent  for  Argyle,  Lord  James  Stewart,  and  other 
Protestant  nobles.  Her  dying  counsel  was  to 
procure  the  withdrawal  both  of  English  and  of 
French  soldiers  from  the  land.1 

Within  a  month  of  the  Regent's  death  a 
treaty  was  signed  in  which  England  and  France 
were  nominally  the  contracting  parties,  but 
Scottish  affairs  were  the  main  subject  deter- 
mined. The  French  and  English  armies  were 
both  to  depart;  an  Act  of  Oblivion  was  to  be 
passed  by  the  Estates,  to  be  afterwards  confirmed 
by  Queen  Mary  and  her  Consort ;  and  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country,  in  the  royal  absence,  was  to 
be  in  the  hands  of  a  Council  of  Twelve, — five  to 
be  chosen  by  the  Estates  and  seven  by  the  Queen, 
— out  of  twenty-four  persons  selected  by  Parlia- 
ment. The  subject  of  religion,  out  of  which  the 
whole  conflict  had  arisen,  was  by  common  consent 
ignored.  France  could  not  afford  to  endorse  Pro- 
testantism;   England,  or  at  least  Elizabeth,  was 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  70,  71. 


222  John  Knox  [1559- 

not  prepared  to  be  a  party  to  the  establishment 
of  Calvinism  or  Puritanism;  the  settlement  of 
ecclesiastical  questions  was  left  to  the  Scottish 
Estates.1  To  Knox,  the  issue  so  far  was  satis- 
factory; and  to  his  suggestion,  we  may  presume, 
was  due  the  solemn  thanksgiving  on  the  19th  of 
July  in  St.  Giles'  Church.  In  his  discourse  on 
that  occasion  he  gives  thanks  to  God  for 
''setting  this  perishing  realm  at  a  reasonable 
liberty";  and  for  having  "partly  removed  our 
darkness,  suppressed  idolatry,  and  taken  from 
above  our  heads  the  devouring  sword  of  merciless 
strangers."  2 

XI.  The  Estates  assembled  on  the  1st  August, 
1560.  From  the  strictly  legal  standpoint  this 
Parliament  was  informal ;  for  the  Sovereign  was 
neither  present  in  person  nor  represented  by 
a  commissioner.  A  minority,  accordingly,  of 
the  membership  objected  to  the  validity  of 
the  procedure ;  but  the  unusually  large  attend- 
ance gave  to  the  convention  an  authority  which 
at  a  national  crisis  no  informality  could  in- 
validate.3 While  a  portion  of  the  clergy  and 
laymen  present  were  opposed  to  the  Reforma- 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  85,  86. 

2  Ibid. 

3  The  attendance  included  one  duke,  thirteen  earls,  and 
nineteen  other  lords,  the  Primate,  five  other  bishops,  and 
twenty  abbots  and  priors;  one  hundred  and  ten  barons; 
and  the  representatives  of  twenty- two  burghs  (Teulet,  i., 
614). 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         223 

tion,  the  Parliament  as  a  whole  was  strongly 
Protestant.  Knox  did  his  utmost,  in  his  own 
sphere,  to  secure  due  consideration  for  the  re- 
ligious needs  of  the  time.  From  his  pulpit  in  St. 
Giles'  he  applied  to  existing  circumstances  the  pro- 
phecies of  Haggai,  and  enforced  the  national  duty 
of  rebuilding  the  house  of  God  and  of  preferring 
divine  honour  to  selfish  advantage.1  The  "  mock- 
age"  of  some,  indeed  (even  among  those  friendly 
to  the  Reformation),  foreshadowed  coming  disap- 
pointment; but  the  prevailing  evangelical  senti- 
ments were  embodied  in  a  largely  signed  and 
trenchant  supplication  to  Parliament  by  the 
barons,  gentlemen,  burgesses,  and  others,  "true 
subjects  of  this  realm,  professing  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  In  this  supplication  are  recounted  the 
erroneous  doctrines  of  Romanism ;  the  unfounded 
pretensions  of  the  papacy ;  the  (idolatrous)  minis- 
tration of  the  sacraments;  the  immorality,  ra- 
pacity, and  persecuting  cruelty  of  leading  clergy ; 
and  the  petitioners  crave  a  remedy  for  a  "bur- 
den intolerable  upon  the  Kirk  of  God  within  the 
realm."  2 

It  was  indicated  at  the  outset  on  which  sMe  the 
sympathies  of  the  Estates  lay  by  the  resolution 
to  ask  from  those  who  objected  to  Roman  doctrine 
a  detailed  statement  of  their  own  belief.  The 
drawing    up    of    this    Confession    of    Faith  was 


1  Knox,  H.  oj  R.,  ii.,  88. 
a  Ibid.,  ii.,  89-92. 


224  John  Knox  [i559- 

in trusted  to  six  ministers — Knox,  Row,  and  Wil- 
lock,  who  belonged  to  the  more  advanced  section 
of  the  Reformers;  Wynram,  Spottiswoode,  and 
Douglas,  who  represented  the  more  moderate 
party.1  The  first  draft  was  composed  by  one 
man,  presumably  Knox  himself  2 ;  but  Wynram, 
and  also  Lethington,  to  whom  the  document  was 
committed  for  examination,  while  approving  the 
doctrine,  are  stated  to  have  "mitigated  the 
austerity  of  many  words  and  sentences."3  Knox 
states  that  "within  four  days"  of  the  parlia- 
mentary order,  the  Confession  (consisting  of 
twenty-five  chapters)  was  presented;  but  we 
need  not  infer  that  the  work  was  prepared  with- 
in this  brief  interval.4  It  bears  no  marks  of 
hasty  production.  Knox  had  doubtless  spent 
many  days  upon  its  composition,  in  anticipation 
of  the  task  which  devolved  upon  him;  and  the 
four  days  were  occupied,  presumably,  in  revision. 
Like  other  Reformed  Confessions,  this  product  of 
Scottish  Protestantism  emphasised  the  suprem- 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  128.  By  a  coincidence  all  the  six 
bore  the  name  of  John. 

2  Randolph,  letter  to  Cecil,  in    Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  120. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  121.  Wynram  and  Maitland  appear  also,  from 
Randolph's  letter,  to  have  recommended  the  omission  of  the 
strongly  worded  chapter  on  the  Civil  Magistrate;  but  ap- 
parently the  commission  did  not  endorse  that  recommenda- 
tion, unless  Prof.  A.  F.  Mitchell's  conjecture  be  adopted 
(Scott.  Ref.,  p.  1 01),  that  they  objected  only  to  a  particular 
sentence  regarding  the  limits  of  obedience. 

4  A.  F.  Mitchell,  Scott.  Ref.,  p.  99. 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         225 

acy  and  sufficiency  of  Holy  Scripture  as  the  rule 
of  faith;  the  worthlessness  of  human  works  as 
the  ground  of  a  sinner's  pardon;  and  the  deter- 
mination of  the  true  Church  not  by  antiquity, 
succession,  or  general  prevalence,  but  by  the 
faithful  preaching  of  the  Word,  the  right  admin- 
istration of  the  sacraments,  and  the  fidelity  of 
ecclesiastical  discipline.  The  Church  as  a  divine 
institution  is  firmly  upheld ;  but  there  is  no  shrink- 
ing from  the  investiture  of  the  civil  magistrate 
with  the  power  of  "dealing"  with  a  corrupt  ec- 
clesiastical organisation.  We  have  seen  how,  at 
an  early  period  of  his  career  as  a  Reformer,  Knox 
appears  to  have  been  influenced  by  the  first  Hel- 
vetic Confession,  which  George  Wishart  trans- 
lated and  brought  back  with  him  to  Scotland ;  and 
the  strong  statement  of  that  manifesto,  that  they 
who  "bring  in  strange  or  ungodly  opinions  should 
be  constrained  and  punished  by  the  magistrates,"1 
finds  its  echo  in  the  declaration  of  this  Scottish 
standard  of  doctrine  that  to  the  civil  magistrate 
belong  the  power  and  duty  of  "suppressing  all 
idolatry  and  superstition."  2 

The  Confession  of  the  early  Scottish  Reformers 
is,  in  most  particulars,  conspicuously  broader  than 
that  of  the  Westminster  divines  3 :  and  it  is  sig- 
nalised by  three  other  admirable  features.      (1) 


sc. 


1  Chapter  xxiv.  of  "Helvetic  Conf.,"   Wodrow  Misc 

2  The  Confession  of  Faith  professed  and  believed  by  the  Pro- 
testants within  the  realm  of  Scotland,  chap.  xxiv. 

3  See  Additional  Note  at  the  end  of  this  Chapter. 


226  John  Knox  [1559- 

Amid  the  general  backwardness  of  early  Protest- 
ant Christendom  in  recognising  its  evangelistic 
responsibility  it  is  refreshing  to  find  on  the  title- 
page  of  the  Confession  the  grand  missionary 
motto:  "This  glad  tidings  of  the  Kingdom  shall 
be  preached  through  the  whole  world  for  a  witness 
to  all  nations."  (2)  Amid  arrogant  claims  at 
various  periods  to  a  jus  divinum  both  by  Episco- 
palians and  by  Presbyterians,  and  amid  the  nar- 
row views  at  once  of  Ritualists  and  of  Puritans  as 
to  forms  of  worship,  the  testimony  of  this  old  Con- 
fession of  1560  is  significantly  liberal:  "  Not  that 
we  think  that  one  policy  and  one  order  of  cere- 
monies can  be  appointed  for  all  ages,  times,  and 
places."  (3)  Once  more :  in  no  Confession  of  any 
age  is  the  fallibility  of  its  own  testimony  so  ex- 
pressly and  so  finely  set  forth : 

"Protesting  that  if  any  man  will  note  in  this  our 
Confession  any  article  or  sentence  repugning  to  God's 
Holy  Word,  it  would  please  him,  of  his  gentleness, 
and  for  Christian  charity's  sake,  to  admonish  us  of  the 
same  in  writing:  and  we  of  our  honour  and  fidelity, 
do  promise  unto  him  satisfaction  from  the  mouth 
of  God  (i.  e.,  from  His  Holy  Scriptures),  or  else 
reformation  of  that  which  he  shall  prove  to  be  amiss."1 

The  promptness  with  which  the  Confession  was 
presented  is  equalled  by  the  expedition  with 
which  it  was  sanctioned.     We  have  two  accounts 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  94,  96,  113. 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         227 

of  the  proceedings  in  Parliament  from  men  who 
were  present — that  of  Knox,  and  the  one  given 
by  the  English  ambassador,  Randolph.  To  the 
former,  strong  in  the  conviction  that  the  declara- 
tion of  faith  contained  "the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,"  it  occasioned, 
apparently,  no  surprise  that  although  numerous 
adversaries  of  the  Reformation  were  members  of 
the  Estates,  there  was  little  expressed  dissent 
and  still  less  disputation.  "The  Confession,"  he 
writes,  "was  willingly  accepted,  without  altera- 
tion of  any  one  sentence."  '  But  the  English  on- 
looker records  his  astonishment.  "  I  never  heard 
matters  of  so  great  importance  neither  sooner  dis- 
patched nor  with  better  will  agreed  to."  2 

Reformed  ministers  were  in  attendance,  "  stand- 
ing upon  their  feet,  ready  to  have  answered  in  case 
any  would  have  defended  the  papistry"  ;  but  their 
services  were  not  required.  The  Primate  and  two 
other  bishops  — Crighton  of  Dunkeld  and  Chis- 
holm  of  Dunblane — contented  themselves  with 
giving  an  adverse  vote  on  the  ground  that 
"they  had  not  sufficient  time  to  examine"  the 
document3:  otherwise  they  "spake  nothing."4 
They  were  joined  in  their  dissent  by  five  tem- 
poral lords  who  gave  no  further  reason  for  their 
vote  than  the  ultra-conservative    maxim,    "We 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  92,  121. 

2  Randolph,  letter  to  Cecil,  in  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  116. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  117. 

4  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  122. 


228  John  Knox  [1559- 

will  believe  as  our  fathers  believed."  *  The 
oldest  peer  of  the  realm,  Lord  Lindsay,  whom 
the  English  ambassador  designates  "as  grave 
and  goodly  a  man  as  I  ever  saw,"  uttered  a 
Nunc  Dimittis :  rejoicing  that  it  "hath  pleased 
God  to  let  me  see  this  day";  while  the  Earl 
Marischal — grandfather  of  the  founder,  on  Pro- 
testant lines,  of  Marischal  College  and  Uni- 
versity at  Aberdeen — declared  that  seeing  the 
"pillars  of  the  Pope's  Church  here  present  speak 
nothing  to  the  contrary  of  the  doctrine  proposed, 
I  cannot  but  hold  it  to  be  the  very  truth  of  God."  2 
How  much  the  attitude  of  the  Romanists,  and 
especially  of  the  prelates,  was  due  to  fear,  to  lack 
of  thorough  conviction,  to  argumentative  inabil- 
ity, to  apathy  engendered  by  hopelessness — it  is 
impossible  to  estimate ;  but  the  significant  absence 
or  ineffective  presence  of  the  leaders  of  the  Roman 
Church,  and  their  apparent  acquiescence  in  the 
ruin  of  their  cause,  was  an  "imbecile  attitude,"  3 
which  must  have  helped  to  determine  the  course 
of  waverers  and  time-servers,  and  thus  to  turn  this 


1  The  Earl  of  Athol  and  Lords  Somerville  and  Borthwick 
are  mentioned  by  Knox;  the  Earls  of  Caithness  and  Cassilis 
by  Randolph.  Athol  was  at  first  a  strong  adherent  of  Mary 
Stuart,  but  afterwards  signed  the  warrant  for  her  custody  in 
Lochleven.  Borthwick  was  a  staunch  supporter  of  Mary  of 
Guise;  he  died  in  1565.  Somerville,  as  we  have  seen,  had 
signed  the  "Band"  of  April,  1560.  The  Earl  of  Cassilis 
subsequently  became  a  Protestant  (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  533). 

3  Randolph,  letter  to  Cecil;  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  as  above. 

3  Andrew  Lang,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  78. 


i56o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         229 

parliamentary  victory  of  the  Reformation  into  a 
permanent  ascendency. 

The  adoption  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  was 
followed  by  other  ecclesiastical  procedure.  All 
former  Acts  of  Parliament  inconsistent  with  the 
Confession  were  annulled ;  all  doctrines  and  usages 
contrary  to  it  were  declared  illegal.  A  fresh  stat- 
ute formally  abolished  the  "jurisdiction  and  au- 
thority of  the  Pope  in  this  Realm,"  and  interdicted 
under  pain  of  exile  and  civil  disability  the  solicita- 
tion of  any  title  or  privilege  from  him.  Another 
Act  rendered  it  penal  to  celebrate  or  even  to  hear 
mass:  the  penalty  for  a  first  offence  being  con- 
fiscation of  property;  for  a  second,  banishment; 
for  a  third,  death.1  It  is  impossible,  of  course,  to 
defend  this  policy  of  intolerance  and  threatened 
persecution.  The  principle  of  religious  toleration 
was  not  then  understood  in  Scotland  any  more 
than  in  other  parts  of  Christendom.2  It  is  fair 
to  remember,  however,  that  the  intolerance  of 
the  Scottish  Reformers  in  1560  was  consistent 
with  their  previous  remonstrances  against  per- 
secution. The  complaint  of  Scottish  Protestants 
against  their  persecutors  had  been  founded  on 
Roman  intolerance,  not  of  religious  dissent,  but  of 
divine    truth;    on    the    infliction    of    pains    and 

1  Acts  of  Pari,  of  Scot.,  ii.,  24th  Aug.,  1560  ;  Knox,  H.  of  R., 
ii.,  123,  124. 

2  Cranmer  the  martyr  had  been  also  Cranmer  the  persecu- 
tor; and  the  endorsement  of  the  burning  of  Servetus  the  Uni- 
tarian by  Calvin  and  other  divines  is  well  known. 


230  John  Knox  [1559- 

penalties  not  in  itself,  but  through  illegal  and  un- 
just procedure,1  and  because  of  wholesome  testi- 
mony against  noxious  error. 

Three  circumstances,  moreover,  in  connection 
with  this  persecuting  enactment  against  Roman 
Catholics  deserve  to  be  noted:  (1)  What  Parlia- 
ment now  made  penal  was  not  Roman  doc- 
trine as  a  whole,  but  one  particular  external 
manifestation  of  Romanism,  viz.,  saying  or  hear- 
ing mass :  and  this  on  account  of  the  blasphemous 
idolatry  which  was  believed  to  be  involved.  From 
the  Reformers'  standpoint,  penal  statutes  against 
the  mass  were  so  far  parallel  to  the  laws  still  in 
force  against  scandalously  blasphemous  repre- 
sentations of  things  sacred,  such  as  shock  the 
religious  sentiments  of  the  nation  at  large.  (2) 
The  severe  measures  which  the  Reformers  ap- 
proved against  "mass-mongers,"  as  they  were 
called,  must  be  judged  in  the  light  of  the  fact 
that  adultery,  perjury,  and  blasphemy  were  also 
offences  whose  appropriate  punishment  was  con- 
sidered to  be  death.2  The  stern  policy  of  early 
Scottish  Protestants  regarding  the  mass  was  thus 
due,  not  to  pure  ecclesiastical  intolerance,  but 
to  severe  principles  regarding  the  punishment  of 


1  The  Reformers  complained:  (i)  that  the  standard  of 
judgment  was  not  the  Word  of  God,  but  the  mere  traditions 
of  the  Church;  (2)  that  the  accusers  were  also  the  judges; 
(3)  that  in  particular  cases,  like  that  of  Wishart,  the  death 
penalty  was  exacted  without  the  sanction  of  the  civil  power. 

2  Book  of  Disc,  vii.  (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  227). 


1560]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         231 

what  they  regarded  as  moral  offences,  and  to  the 
theocratic  identification  of  sin  with  crime.  (3) 
While  the  penalty  of  death  was  ordained  by 
Scottish  Parliament  (in  the  event  of  a  third 
offence)  and  endorsed  by  our  early  Reformers,1  in 
no  single  instance  is  that  extreme  penalty  known 
to  have  been  actually  imposed  in  the  lifetime  of 
Knox.  Primate  Hamilton,  indeed,  after  enjoying 
a  considerable  portion  of  his  former  revenues  for 
eleven  years,  was  executed  in  1571 ;  not,  however, 
for  saying  mass,  but  for  complicity  in  the  assas- 
sination of  the  Regent  Moray.2  There  is  also  a 
case  of  four  priests,  who  were  condemned  to  death 
in  1569  for  taking  part  in  a  mass  at  Dunblane; 
but  the  pillory  and  exile  were  substituted  for  the 
scaffold.3  The  only  authenticated  cases  of  the 
death  penalty  being  actually  exacted  are  those  of 
two  priests  who  were  hanged  for  saying  mass  in 
1573  and  1574  respectively. 4  No  record  remains 
of  the  special  circumstances  which  led  to  such 
exceptional  severity:  and  it  is  significant  that 
both  cases  took  place  in  the  interval  between  the 


1  "We  dare  not  prescribe  unto  you  [i.  e.,  the  Privy  Council] 
what  penalties  shall  be  required  of  such  [referring  to  those 
who  profaned  the  sacraments  either  with  the  idolatry  of  the 
mass  or  through  unauthorised  ministration];  but  this  we 
fear  not  to  affirm  that  the  one  and  the  other  deserve  death," 
Book  of  Disc,  (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  254;    comp.  441,  446.) 

2  Richard  Bannatyne's  Memorials,  p.  104.  The  Bishop 
"  confessed  the  Regent's  murder." 

3  Bellesh.,  Cath.  Ch.  of  Sc,  iii.,  205. 
4Buchan.,  Hist.,  242;   Diur.  of  Occ,  341. 


232  John  Knox  Usst- 

death  of  Knox  and  the  return  of  Andrew  Melville 
to  Scotland,  while  the  Church  was  without  any 
eminent  leader.  The  Reformers'  hearts  were  on 
this  question  sounder  than  their  heads :  and  while 
they  maintained  that  the  "idolatry  of  the  mass" 
was  a  crime  which  deserved  death,  they  refrained 
from  urging  the  civil  power  to  enforce  the  ex- 
treme penalty. 

ADDITIONAL    NOTE    ON    THE    SCOTTISH    CONFESSION    OF 

1560  COMPARED  WITH  THE  WESTMINSTER 

CONFESSION 

i.  The  earlier  document  is  only  three-fifths  of  the 
length  of  the  later ;  and  as  the  style  is  much  less  con- 
cise, it  contains  a  considerably  less  proportion  of 
theological  material. 

2.  Nine  of  the  chapters  have  the  same  titles  in 
both  documents — God,  Creation,  Holy  Scripture,  Sin, 
Good  Works,  the  Church,  Church  Councils,  Sacra- 
ments, the  Civil  Magistrate.  In  the  old  Scottish 
Confession  an  article  is  devoted  to  each  of  the  great 
objective  facts  of  Christianity — the  Incarnation, 
Passion,  Resurrection,  and  Ascension  of  Christ: 
while  there  is  a  conspicuous  absence  of  such  articles 
as  appear  in  the  Westminster  Confession  on  various 
acts  and  operations  of  divine  grace — Effectual  Calling, 
Justification,  Adoption,  Sanctification. 

3.  There  is  a  warmth  of  sentiment  and  diction 
in  the  earlier  document  such  as  one  misses  in  the 
more  precise  and  logical  Confession  of  the  subsequent 
century.  The  former  "breathes  the  spirit  of  true 
confessors."     "Long  have  we  thirsted,  brethren," — 


IS6o]        Final  Return  to  Scotland         233 

so  the  preface  begins — "to  have  notified  unto  the 
world  the  sum  of  that  doctrine  which  we  profess. 
.  To  our  weak  brethren  we  would  communicate 
the  bottom  of  our  hearts,  lest  that  they  be  troubled 
or  carried  away";  and  the  preface  closes  with  an 
expression  of  firm  "  purpose  to  abide  to  the  end  in  the 
Confession  of  this  our  Faith." 

4.  As  regards  doctrinal  details;  (a)  while  the 
equality  of  the  three  persons  of  the  Godhead  is  dis- 
tinctly enunciated  in  both  documents,  the  older  Con- 
fession, unlike  the  later,  is  silent  as  to  the  procession 
of  the  Spirit  from  Son  as  well  as  from  Father;  thereby 
testifying  to  the  non-essential  character  of  one  of  the 
main  questions  which  led  to  the  schism  between 
Eastern  and  Western  Christendom.  (6)  The  omission 
of  the  word  "Predestination,"  and  the  broad  state- 
ment about  election  have  already  been  noted  (p.  154). 

(c)  In  the  chapter  on  Original  Sin,  while  the  image 
of  God  is  said  to  be  "  utterly  defaced  "  through  Adam's 
transgression,  there  is  nothing  corresponding  to  the 
statement  of  the  Westminster  Divines  that  the  guilt 
of  Adam's  sin  was  imputed  to  all  his  posterity  (vi.  3.). 

(d)  Similarly  there  is  no  express  reference  to  that  im- 
putation of  Christ's  righteousness  which  the  West- 
minster Confession  emphasises,  (e)  There  is  in  the 
Confession  of  1560  (ch.  ix.)  no  such  limitation  of  the 
purpose  of  the  Atonement  to  any  particular  section 
of  mankind  as  is  made  by  the  Westminster  Divines 
(C.  of  F.,  iii.  6.).  (/)  The  older  Confession,  while 
repudiating  transubstantiation  as  emphatically  as  that 
of  Westminster,  goes  further  than  the  latter  in  the 
direction  of  declaring  that  the  bread  and  wine  be- 
come, after    consecration,   the   channel   for   genuine 


234  John  Knox  [ISS9_ 

believers,  of  spiritual  participation  in  and  nourishment 
by  Christ's  body  and  blood.  The  authors  of  the 
older  Confession  "confess  and  undoubtedly  believe 
that  the  faithful  do  so  eat  the  body  and  drink  the 
blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  He  remaineth  in 
them  and  they  in  Him:  yea,  they  are  so  made  flesh 
of  His  flesh,  and  bone  of  His  bones,  that  as  the  Eter- 
nal Godhead  has  given  to  the  flesh  of  Jesus  Christ 
life  and  immortality;  so  doth  Christ  Jesus'  flesh  and 
blood,  eaten  and  drunk  by  us,  give  unto  us  the  same 
prerogatives"  (ch.  xxi.).  (g)  Polemical  as  the  older 
Confession  is  against  Roman  error,  it  exhibits  no 
parallel  to  the  extreme  anti-papal  invective  of  the 
Westminster  Divines,  who  describe  the  Pope  as 
"anti-Christ,"  the  "man  of  sin,"  and  the  "son  of 
perdition"  (ch.  xxv.).  (h)  The  duty  assigned  by 
the  earlier  document  to  the  civil  magistrate  of  "the 
maintenance  of  the  true  religion,"  and  "the  sup- 
pressing of  idolatry  and  superstition"  (xxiv.),  is 
substantially  re-imposed  by  the  later  Confession,  when 
it  enjoins  the  magistrate  to  "take  order  that  all 
heresies  be  suppressed;  all  corruptions  and  abuses 
in  worship  and  discipline  prevented  or  reformed  " 
(xxiii).  (t)  While  in  most  particulars  the  Confession 
of  Knox  and  his  colleagues  is  broader  than  its  suc- 
cessor, it  is  narrower  as  regards  salvation  outside  the 
visible  Church.  "There  shall  none  be  participant 
thereof  but  such  as  ...  in  time  come  unto  Him 
[Christ],  avow  His  doctrine,  and  believe  into  Him" 
(chap.  xvi.).  With  greater  caution  the  Westminster 
standard  refers  to  the  visible  Church  "out  of  which 
there  is  no  ordinary  possibility  of  salvation  "  (chap, 
xxv.). 


CHAPTER  IX 

KNOX  AND  THE   ORGANISATION   OF  THE   REFORMED 
SCOTTISH    CHURCH 

I 560-1561 

BY  the  Parliament  of  1560  the  doctrine,  wor- 
ship, and  government  of  the  Roman  Church 
in  Scotland  had  been  overthrown ;  Romanism  had 
been  disestablished,  and  Protestantism  had  been 
established  as  the  national  religion.  Acts  of  Par- 
liament, however,  can  neither  make  nor  unmake 
churches,  although  they  may  contribute  to  the 
process ;  and  the  work  of  Knox  and  his  colleagues, 
lay  and  clerical,  had  only  begun.  There  were 
little  more  than  a  dozen  recognised  and  effective 
Reformed  preachers  to  instruct  the  nation  * ;  and 
while  the  majority  of  the  people  probably  sym- 
pathised with  the  Reformation,  the  Protestant 
congregations  were  few  and  devoid  of  ecclesiastical 
cohesion.    A  Reformed  Creed  had  been  recognised : 

1  These  included,  besides  Knox  himself  and  his  five  asso- 
ciates in  the  production  of  the  Confession  (see  p.  224) :  David 
Lyndsay,  at  Leith;  Christopher  Goodman,  at  St.  Andrews; 
John  Christison,  at  Dundee;  Adam  Herriot,  at  Aberdeen; 
David  Ferguson,  at  Dunfermline;  Paul  Methven,  at  Jed- 
burgh;  and  John  Carswell,  in  Argyle. 

*235 


236  John  Knox  [1560- 

a  Protestant  Church  had  still  to  be  organised, 
with  an  orderly  ministry  and  government,  an 
authorised  ritual  and  discipline,  an  adequate  and 
reliable  temporal  provision.  To  secure  these 
objects,  a  church  polity  had  to  be  framed. 

I.  So  early  as  April,  1560,  the  Lords  of  the 
Congregation,  probably  at  Knox's  own  suggestion, 
had  anticipated  future  requirements,  and  had  in- 
trusted the  task  of  drawing  up  a  constitution  to 
the  Reformer  himself,  and  to  the  other  five  minis- 
ters associated  with  him  in  the  composition  of  the 
Confession  of  Faith.1  The  outcome  of  their  la- 
bours was  the  Book  of  Discipline,  which  had 
been  presented  as  a  draft  to  the  Council  of  the 
Congregation  in  May,  1560.2  It  was  kept,  appar- 
ently, in  retentis  until  after  the  dissolution  of 
Parliament  in  August,  when  the  commission  to 
Knox  and  his  colleagues  was  formally  renewed.3 
Subsequently  it  was  submitted,  in  the  form  of  a 
Latin  translation,  to  Calvin,  Beza,  Bullinger,  and 
other  Swiss  Reformers,*  prior  to  its  being  laid  be- 
fore the  Privy  Council  in  January,  1561.5 

This  remarkable  document  was  never  accepted 
by  the  Estates ;  but  it  was  adopted  by  the  Church 


1  Knox,  H.  of   R.,  ii.,  128,  183. 

2  Ibid.,  ii.,  257.  The  document  was  afterwards  called  the 
First  Book  of  Discipline,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  later 
polity  drawn  up  by  Andrew  Melville. 

3  Ibid.,  ii.,  128. 

4  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  119. 
s  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  257. 


i56i]       Organisation  of  the  Church       237 

as  of  ecclesiastical  authority;  and  not  the  least 
interesting  portions  are  those  which  remained  a 
dead  letter  through  lack  of  civil  sanction.  They 
embody  the  ideal  church  constitution  which  the 
Reformers,  and  particularly  John  Knox,  the  chief 
author  of  the  work,  endeavoured,  although  in  part 
ineffectually,  to  realise.1 

II.  The  Book  of  Discipline  recognised  five  class- 
es of  church  office-bearers,  three  of  which  were 
certainly  designed  to  be  permanent — the  minister, 
elder,  and  deacon.  The  additional  office  of  reader 
was  apparently  intended  to  be  temporary;  re- 
garding that  of  superintendent  there  is  room  for 
divergent  opinions.  To  the  minister  belonged  the 
public  preaching  of  the  Word,  the  ministration  of 
the  sacraments,  and,  along  with  the  elders,  the 
exercise  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  and  disci- 
pline. He  was  to  be  elected  by  the  people,  but 
examined  and  (in  the  event  of  approval)  admitted 
by  the  superintendent  and  other  ministers  of  the 
province  or  district.  The  admission  was  to  be 
without  imposition  of  hands;  this  ceremony,  it 
was  considered,  might  appear  to  signify  not  only 
the  transmission  of  ecclesiastical  authority,  which 
the  Reformers  acknowledged,  but  also  the  com- 
munication of  supernatural  gifts,  which  they  dis- 
avowed.2    The  elders  were  to  be  men  of  "best 


1  See  A.  F.  Mitchell,  Scot.  Ref.,  pp.  144-183. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  189-193.  The  Second  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline (followed  by  the  Westminster  Form  of  Church  Govern- 
ment), restored  the  "laying  on  of  hands." 


238  John  Knox  [1560- 

knowledge  in  God's  Word  and  cleanest  life."  It 
was  their  function  to  assist  the  minister  in  the 
government  of  the  Church,  and  in  the  discipline 
and  supervision  of  the  congregation.  They  were 
also  to  take  heed  to  the  doctrine,  diligence,  and 
demeanour  of  the  minister,  to  admonish  him  if 
necessary,  and  to  bring  any  case  of  flagrant  de- 
linquency before  the  superintendent  and  ministers 
of  the  district. 1  To  the  deacons  belonged  the  duty 
of  receiving  and  administering  congregational  reve- 
nue ;  of  collecting  and  distributing  alms ;  and  of 
" assisting  in  judgment"  the  minister  and  elders. 
Elders  and  deacons  were  to  be  elected  by  the 
congregation,  and  only  for  one  year  at  a  time, 
"lest  by  long  continuance  of  such  officers  men 
presume  upon  the  liberty  of  the  Church."  2  The 
readers  were  intended  to  supply,  so  far,  the  place 
of  the  ministry  until  sufficient  qualified  ministers 
were  obtained.  Their  duty  was  restricted  to  the 
reading  of  Scripture  and  of  the  Common  Prayers ; 
but  they  were  encouraged  to  aspire  to  the  higher 
office ;  and  those  who  were  found  qualified  mean- 
while to  address  the  congregation  received  the 
further  designation  of  "exhorters."  3  To  the  su- 
perintendents (who  were  to  be  "ten  or  twelve," 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  192-194,  233-235.  The  Presbytery, 
to  which  this  responsibility  afterwards  belonged,  had  not 
yet  been  constituted. 

2  Ibid.,  234.  The  Second  Book  of  Discipline  enacted  that 
election  should  be  for  life. 

3  Ibid.,  199,  200. 


i56i]       Organisation  of  the  Church       239 

although  this  number  was  never  actually  at- 
tained) the  "charge  and  commandment"  were  to 
be  given  "to  plant  and  erect  Churches,  to  set, 
order,  and  appoint  ministers,"  and  meanwhile  to 
"travel  in  such  provinces  as  to  them  shall  be 
assigned,"  so  that  "Christ  Jesus  may  be  univers- 
ally preached  throughout  this  realm." 

The  superintendent  resembled  a  bishop  in  so  far 
as  he  held  an  office  superior  in  authority  to  that  of 
an  ordinary  minister,  and  exercised  territorial  su- 
pervision over  a  province.  But  he  differed  from  a 
bishop  in  so  far  as  his  office  was  not  a  new  order ; 
no  additional  rite  of  consecration  being  required. 
Ordinary  ministers  of  the  province,  moreover,  took 
part  in  his  admission,  and  he  was  subject  to  their 
admonition  as  well  as  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
General  Assembly.1  It  is  commonly  supposed 
that  the  office  of  superintendent,  like  that  of 
reader,  was  from  the  first  designed  to  be  tem- 
porary; and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  erelong  dis- 
appeared. There  appears  to  be  ground,  however, 
for  believing  that  the  institution  was  rather  a  ten- 
tative arrangement,  the  result,  perhaps,  of  a  com- 
promise between  divergent  views  in  the  Church 
as  to  the  retention  of  the  episcopate  in  modified 
form;  so  that  the  continuance  or  discontinuance 
of  the  office  might  be  intended  to  depend  on  its 
effectiveness  or  ineffectiveness  after  a  fair  trial.2 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  201-208. 

2  That    the    superintendentship    was    intended    from    the 
first  to  be  only  a  temporary   provision    is   maintained  by 


240  John  Knox  [i56o- 

The  Book  of  Discipline  contains  no  formal 
regulations  as  to  church  courts ;  but  the  existence 
of  Kirk  Session,  Synod  or  Provincial  Court,  and 
General  Assembly  is  throughout  implied.     The 

McCrie  (L.  of  Knox,  Chap,  vii.) ;  Lee,  Constit.  H.  of  Ch.  of 
Sc,  i.,  169);  Cunningham  (Ch.  of  Sc,  i.,  283),  and  others; 
somewhat  hesitatingly  by  Grub  (Eccles.  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  99)  and 
Rankine  (Story's  Ch.  of  Sc,  ii.,  440).  The  language  of  the 
Book  of  Discipline  in  two  places  is  regarded  as  supporting 
this  contention.  "We  have  thought  it  good  to  signify  such 
reasons  as  moved  us  to  make  difference  between  preachers 
at  this  time,"  "We  have  thought  it  a  thing  most  expedient 
for  this  time,  etc."  The  reasons  given,  moreover,  viz.,  the 
small  number  of  ministers  and  the  limited  number  of  con- 
gregations, are  circumstances  which  were  expected  to  pass 
away.  On  the  other  hand,  (1)  there  is  no  hint  in  the  Book 
of  Discipline  either  of  Presbyteries  or  of  any  other  kind  of 
executive  which  might  afterwards  supersede  the  superin- 
tendentship;  (2)  express  provision  is  made  for  filling 
vacancies  in  the  office,  without  any  suggestion  that  suc- 
cessors might  not  be  required;  (3)  the  two  reasons  given  for 
the  institution  of  superintendents  are  reasons  rather  for  the 
appointment  of  (a)  "exhorters"  or  readers  to  supply  for  a 
time  the  place  of  ministers,  (b)  special  commissioners  with 
the  limited  function  of  "planting"  new  congregations. 
These  various  considerations  suggest  that  the  institution  of 
the  superintendentship  was  intended  to  be  experimental 
rather  than  of  necessity  temporary.  The  compilers  of  the 
Book  may  have  come  to  no  final  decision  as  to  the  con- 
tinuance or  discontinuance  of  the  office;  and  the  cautious 
phrases  "at  this  time"  and  "for  this  time,"  as  well  as  the 
adducing  of  reasons  which  might  erelong  cease  to  exist, 
may  indicate  merely  that,  amid  some  doubt  as  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  experiment,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  avoid 
committing  the  Church  at  that  stage  to  any  permanent 
arrangement.  Archbishop  Spottiswoode,  who  must  have 
received  the  information  from  his  father,  states  that  "divers" 
of  the  six  compilers  of  the  Book  favoured  "the  retaining  of 


1561]       Organisation  of  the  Church       241 

Presbytery  as  a  court  was  afterwards  developed 
under  Andrew  Melville.  In  the  time  of  Knox  it 
existed  only  in  germ  as  a  weekly  meeting  of 
neighbouring  ministers  and  elders  for  the  study 
of  Holy  Scripture.1  The  Kirk  Session  consisted, 
as  at  present,  of  the  minister  and  elders  of  the 
parish;  the  Synod,  of  the  ministers  and  elders  of  a 
province,  presided  over  by  the  superintendent ;  the 
General  Assembly,  of  all  the  ministers  (including 
superintendents,  without  official  precedence)  and 
of  lay  commissioners  from  churches  which  chose 
thus  to  be  represented.  In  the  renunciation  of  a 
hierarchy ;  in  the  institution  of  an  eldership  with- 
out the  function  of  preaching ;  and  in  the  recog- 
nition of  the  right  of  the  laity  to  share  in  the 
Church's  government,  the  Scottish  Reformers  and 
their  Book  of  Discipline  exemplified  the  influence 
of  Calvin  and  Geneva. 

III.  For  the  public  Worship  of  the  Church,  the 
Reformers  adopted  the  Book  of  Geneva  used  by 
the  congregation  of  English  refugees  in  that  city. 
It  was  now  revised  and  issued  in  Scotland,  with  a 
view  to  Scottish  use,  under  the  name  of  the  Book 

the  ancient  policy,"  i.  e.,  the  episcopate  (see  Keith,  Ch.  and 
St.,  iii.,  15,  who  quotes  an  unpublished  note  in  Spottis- 
woode's  MS.);  and  the  elder  Spottiswoode,  two  years  before 
his  death  in  1585,  declared  his  regret  that  the  episcopate  had 
been  abolished  (Spottisw.,  H.  of  Ch.,  ii.,  337).  Such  diver- 
gence of  view  among  the  leaders  of  the  Reformation  might 
very  well  have  led  to  the  adoption  of  a  compromise  which 
left  both  parties  free  as  to  ultimate  arrangements. 

1  A.  F.  Mitchell,  Scott.  Ref.,  159;  Knox,  H.  of  R.,ii.,  242. 
16 


242  John  Knox  [1560- 

of  Common  Order.1  This  Book  contains  forms 
of  prayer  and  praise  for  ordinary  public  worship 
and  for  the  ministration  of  the  sacraments  and 
other  religious  ordinances;  but,  unlike  most  other 
liturgies,  it  leaves  to  the  officiating  minister  con- 
siderable freedom  both  of  modification  of  and 
supplement.2  Among  its  notable  features  are  (1) 
the  absence  of  a  lectionary;  although  the  Book 
of  Discipline  enjoins  continuous  reading  of  the 
Bible  at  divine  service,  without  ''skipping  and 
divagation"  3;  (2)  the  omission,  as  in  Calvin's 
liturgy,  of  congregational  responses4;  (3)  the 
inclusion  not  only  of  Psalms  in  metre  and  of 
metrical  versions  of  other  parts  of  Scripture, 
but  of  doxologies  and  "human  hymns,"  includ- 
ing the  "Veni  Creator";  (4)  the  exclusion  of 
any  prayer  for  the  sanctification  of  the  ele- 
ments in  the  Holy  Communion,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  appearance  of  transubstantiation  doc- 
trine 5;   (5)  the  celebration  of  marriage  in  church, 

1  See  Ch.  V.,  p.  142.  In  the  Book  of  Discipline  the  Com- 
mon Order  is  said  to  be  already  "  used  in  some  of  our  Kirks  " 
(Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  186);  by  1564  its  use  was  enjoined  in 
ordinary  church  worship  as  well  as  in  the  special  services 
(Cald.,  H.  of  K.,  ii.,  284.  Sprott  and  Leishman  {Book  of 
Common  Order,  etc.,  240,  241,  253)  described  in  detail  the 
44  Pedigree  of  the  Book  of  C.  O." 

2  Book  of  Common  Order,  pp.  22,  31,  86,  125. 

3  Book  of  Disc,  ch.  ix.,  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  240. 

4  This  omission  was  due  perhaps,  in  part,  to  Knox's  ex- 
perience of  responses  at  Frankfort. 

5  The  prayer  of  sanctification  was  restored  in  the  West- 
minster Directory  of  Worship. 


i56i]       Organisation  of  the  Church       243 

"in  open  face  and  public  audience"  of  the 
congregation,  the  most  convenient  time  being 
"Sunday  before  sermon"1;  (6)  the  strong  dis- 
couragement of  prayer  at  burials,  and  the  absence 
of  all  provision  for  it,  in  order  to  guard  against 
prayers  for  the  dead  2 ;  and  (7)  the  non-observance 
of  church  festivals  and  commemoration  of  saints, 
chiefly,  as  it  appears,  "  because  in  God's  Scriptures 
they  have  neither  commandment  nor  assurance," 
but  also  on  account  of  the  prevalent  abuses  and 
superstitions  connected  with  such  "holidays."  3 

IV.  As  regards  ecclesiastical  discipline,  in  the 
more  special  sense,  provision  is  made  in  the  Book 
of  Discipline  for  the  private  admonition  of  those 
whose  offences  are  "secret  or  known  only  to  a 
few";  and  if  the  offender  promise  amendment 
and  fulfil  his  promise,  this  "secret  admonition"  is 
deemed  sufficient.  For  open  and  flagrant  offences 
a  profession  of  penitence  before  the  congregation 


1  Book  of  Disc,  ch.  ix.  in  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  pp.  247,  248. 

2  Ibid.,  249-251;  Sprott  and  Leishman,  B.  of  C.  O.,  78, 
243.  The  authors  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  do  not  ab- 
solutely prohibit  a  burial  service;  they  only  "judge  it 
best"  that  there  be  "neither  singing  nor  reading"  (i.  e.,  of 
prayers) ;  and,  as  if  conscious  that  in  guarding  against  su- 
perstition, they  might  discourage  religion,  they  add;  "Yet 
notwithstanding  we  are  content  that  particular  kirks  use 
them  [singing  and  prayers],  with  the  consent  of  the  ministers, 
as  they  shall  answer  to  God,  and  to  the  Assembly  of  the 
Universal  Kirk  gathered  within  the  realm." 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  185,  186.  Somewhat  inconsistently, 
however,  the  days  are  inserted  in  the  ecclesiastical  calendar 
prefixed  to  the  Book  of  Common  Order. 


244  John  Knox  [1560- 

is  required :  and  what  this  involved  is  illustrated 
by  references,  in  early  kirk  session  records,  to 
the  "pillar  of  repentance"  at  which  the  offender 
stood,  clad  in  sackcloth,  with  bare  feet,  and  neck 
encircled  by  the  iron  ring  attached  to  a  pillar  or 
to  the  wall  of  the  Church.  After  such  discipline 
had  been  undergone,  however,  and  tokens  of  re- 
pentance had  been  shewn,  the  Church  was  to 
receive  back  the  offender  into  fellowship:  she 
"ought  to  be  no  more  severe  than  God."  On  the 
persistently  impenitent  person  excommunication 
is  to  be  pronounced ;  and  all,  except  members  of 
his  family,  are  prohibited  from  intercourse  with 
him,  except  from  what  is  necessary  or  expedient 
for  his  conversion.  Yet  his  case  is  not  to  be  treated 
as  hopeless ;  his  "most  discreet  and  nearest  friends  " 
are  to  "travail  with  him,  to  bring  him  to  know- 
ledge of  himself";  and  "all  are  to  call  to  God" 
on  his  behalf.  Various  offences  in  addition  to 
murder,  viz.,  blasphemy,  idolatry,  perjury,  and 
adultery,  are  declared  to  be  beyond  the  sphere  of 
the  Church's  discipline,  because  those  who  commit 
such  transgressions  ought  to  be  "taken  away  by 
the  civil  sword."  With  a  fine  inconsistency,  how- 
ever, the  Book  provides  that,  "in  case"  such 
offenders  "be  permitted  to  live,"  and  do  after- 
wards give  evidence  of  repentance,  the  minister, 
elders,  and  chief  men  of  the  Church  are,  in  the 
name  of  the  congregation,  to  "receive  that  peni- 
tent brother  into  their  favour,  as  they  require 


i56i]       Organisation  of  the  Church       245 

God  to  receive  themselves  when  they  have 
offended";  and  "one  or  two,  in  name  of  the 
whole,  shall  kiss  and  embrace  him  with  all  rever- 
ence and  gravity,  as  a  member  of  Christ  Jesus."  r 

The  Book  of  Discipline  makes  it  clear  that  the 
congregation,  and  not  merely  the  minister  and 
elders,  excommunicate  and  absolve.  The  min- 
ister's duty  is  to  move  the  offender  to  penitence, 
and  the  congregation  to  excommunication  or  ab- 
solution. The  elders'  function  is  to  assist  the 
minister  in  such  offices,  and  to  offer  the  right 
hand  of  restored  fellowship  to  the  penitent.  But 
with  the  congregation  the  administration  of  dis- 
cipline is  held  really  to  lie.  It  was  this  concep- 
tion of  congregational  power  and  responsibility 
which  made  public  confession  of,  and  satisfaction 
for,  heinous  sin  appropriate.  When  the  Re- 
formed Church  afterwards  went  back  to  the  pre- 
Reformation  standpoint  regarding  discipline,  so 
far,  at  least,  as  to  transfer  the  exercise  of  it  from 
the  congregation  to  office-bearers,  the  publicity  of 
the  ordeal  ceased  to  have  the  old  significance. 
Public  exposure  became  purely  punitive  instead 
of  being,  as  originally  intended,  restorative;  and 
so,  slowly  but  steadily,  it  passed  away. 

V.  The  Book  of  Discipline  emphasises  the 
necessity  of  the  "virtuous  education  and  godly 
up-bringing  of  the  youth  of  this  realm."  If  Scot- 
land owes  to  enlightened  Roman  prelates  three 

1  Book  of   Disc,  Head  VII.,  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  227-233. 


246  John  Knox  [1560- 

out  of  her  four  universities,  she  is  indebted 
mainly  to  Knox  and  the  early  Reformers  for  her 
parochial-school  system;  and  if  adequate  pro- 
vision for  secondary  education,  as  the  link  be- 
tween parish  school  and  university,  has  been  left 
to  modern  times,  this  postponement  has  been  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  counsels  of  the  Reformers 
were,  on  this  point,  in  great  measure  ignored. 
The  Book  lays  down  that  in  every  parish  there 
should  be  not  only  a  church,  but  a  school,  at 
which  secular  and  religious  instruction  were  to  be 
given ;  and,  "  further,  that  in  every  notable  town  " 
an  academy  or  "college"  should  be  erected,  at 
which  suitable  preparation  x  might  be  supplied  to 
promising  youth  for  future  study  at  the  "great 
schools  called  Universities." 

The  authors  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  antici- 
pated our  legislature  by  more  than  three  cen- 
turies in  advocating  compulsory  education;  the 
children  of  the  well-to-do,  were  to  be  educated 
at  their  parents'  expense;  but  "the  children  of 
the  poor  on  the  charge  of  the  Church."  The  en- 
couragement of  university  training  was  to  be 
secured  by  the  establishment  of  bursaries  on  a 
liberal  scale,  viz.,  seventy-two  for  St.  Andrews, 
as  the  oldest  and  at  that  time  the  largest  uni- 
versity, and  forty-eight  each  for  Glasgow  and 
Aberdeen.     "  If  God  shall  move  your  hearts,"  so 


1  Among  the  subjects  mentioned  as  requiring  to  be  taught 
in  these  "colleges"  were  "Logic  and  Rhetoric." 


iS6i]       Organisation  of  the  Church       247 

the  authors  of  the  Book  address  the  Privy  Coun- 
cil, "to  establish  and  execute  this  order,  and  put 
these  things  in  practice,  your  whole  realm, 
within  few  years,  will  serve  itself  of  true 
preachers,  and  of  other  officers  necessary  for 
your  Commonwealth."  l 

VI.  Of  special  importance  are  the  proposals  of 
the  Book  of  Discipline  regarding  the  Church's 
patrimony.  At  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  possessions  of  the  Church,  in- 
cluding landed  property  or  "temporalities,"  and 
ecclesiastical  teinds  or  "spiritualities,"  amounted 
nominally  to  about  one-half  of  the  wealth  of  the 
kingdom :  but  during  the  generation  preceding  the 
fall  of  Romanism,  the  revenues  had  been  largely 
diminished  through  actual  or  virtual  alienation. 
Still,  much  remained;  and  the  compilers  of  the 
Book  set  forth  how  it  might  be  used.  They 
proposed  to  revert  to  the  spirit  of  the  usage 
which  prevailed  in  the  best  days  of  the  Roman 
Church.  Support  of  monks  and  beneficed  clergy; 
establishment  and  endowment  of  schools  and 
universities;  maintenance  of  hospitals  and  dis- 
tribution of  alms — ministry,  that  is,  for  the  soul, 
culture  for  the  mind,  relief  for  the  body, — these 
had  been  the  three  channels  in  which  the  wealth 
of  the  old  Church  had  run,  before  accumulated 
abuses    had    diverted    it    into    lay    and    clerical 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  209-220;   A.  F.  Mitchell,  Scot.  Ref., 
pp.  174-178. 


248  John  Knox  [1560- 

aggrandisement.  Knox  endeavoured  to  secure  sub- 
stantially similar  arrangements.  While  vexatious 
ecclesiastical  exactions,  such  as  "the  uppermost 
cloth,"  funeral  perquisites,  Easter  offerings,  etc., 
were  to  be  abrogated,  the  legitimate  property  of 
the  Church,  he  maintained,  ought  to  be  devoted 
entirely  to  the  sustenance  of  the  ministry,  the 
education  of  youth,  and  the  relief  of  the  poor 
by  kirk  sessions.  The  provision  proposed  for  the 
ministry  was  by  no  means  excessive.  "We  re- 
quire it  to  be  such  that  ministers  may  have 
occasion  neither  of  solicitude  nor  of  insolence 
and  wantonness."  T  For  the  ordinary  pastor  is 
indicated  a  stipend  equal  probably  in  purchasing 
power  to  the  recognised  minimum  of  £200  (not, 
however,  yet  universally  realised)  at  the  present 
day  2 ;  and  the  rational  principle  is  laid  down  that 
pastors  having  families  should  have  a  somewhat 
larger  stipend  than  those  who  have  none.  For 
superintendents,  whose  duties  involved  much 
costly  travel,  the  stipend  proposed  was  probably 
equal  in  real  value  to  that  of  the  present  livings  of 
leading  city  charges.  In  a  time  anterior  to  the 
establishment  of  funds  for  widows  and  children 
of  the  clergy,  the  Book  of  Discipline  strongly  ad- 
vocates the  sustentation  of  the  families  of  deceased 
ministers  who  "did  faithfully  serve  the  Kirk  of 

1  Book  of  Disc,  Head  V.,  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  197. 

2  For  a  detailed  calculation  of  the  value  of  ministers' 
stipends  as  proposed  by  the  Book  of  Discipline,  see  Principal 
Lee,  Constitutional  Hist,  of  Ch.  of  Sc,  i.,  162. 


i56i]       Organisation  of  the  Church       249 

God."     The  proposed  destination  of  ecclesiastical 
revenue  to  education  has  already  been  indicated. 
As  regards  relief  of  the  poor,  the  authors  are  care- 
ful to  state  that  they  would  be  no  "patrons  of 
stubborn  and  idle  beggars,  who  make  a  craft  of 
begging:    those  must  be  compelled  to  work,  or 
else  be  punished  by  the  magistrate."     But  "for 
the  widow  and  fatherless,  the  aged,  impotent  or 
maimed,  who  neither  can  nor  may  travail  for  their 
sustentation :  for  such,  as  also  for  persons  of  hon- 
esty fallen  into  decay  and  penury,  ought  provi- 
sion to  be  made,"  and  "  their  indigence  relieved."  1 
VII.    In  the  development  and  expansion  of  the 
Scottish  Reformed  Church,  a  main  factor,  at  once 
of  consolidation  and  of  progress,  was  the  General 
Assembly.     The  Assembly,  unlike  the  hierarchy 
which  it  superseded,  was  the  exponent  of  the  lay 
as  well  as  of  the  clerical  opinion  of  the  Church; 
a  bond  of  union  for  all  the  Reformed  congrega- 
tions of  the  country ;  a  national  institution  which 
rivalled  Parliament  in   its  influence:    an  agency 
for  enactments  affecting  the  religious  life  of  the 
nation;    the  directress  of  popular  sentiment   in 
spiritual  concerns.     The  General  Assembly  was 
intended  to  be  the  great  "Living  Epistle"  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland— the  Confession  of  Faith  and 
the  Book  of  Discipline  embodied  together  in  the 
personalities  of   living   men.     The   first  General 

1  Book  of   Disc,  Heads   V.  and  VI.,  Knox,  H.  of   R.,  ii., 
197,  198,  200,  201,  221-225. 


250  John  Knox  [1560- 

Assembly  of  the  Church  met  in  Magdalen  Chapel, 
in  the  Cowgate  of  Edinburgh,  on  the  20th  De- 
cember, 1560.  It  consisted  of  only  forty-two 
members,1  who  assembled  as  "ministers  and  com- 
missioners of  the  particular  kirks  of  Scotland, 
convened  upon  the  things  which  are  to  set  forward 
God's  glory  and  the  weal  of  His  Kirk  in  this 
realm."  2  The  main  business  of  this  first  Assem- 
bly was  to  sanction  the  appointment  of  such  as 
were  "best  qualified  for  the  preaching  the  Word, 
ministering  of  the  Sacraments,  and  reading  of  the 
Common  Prayers."  3  We  cannot  doubt,  however, 
that  the  Book  of  Discipline  was  carefully  con- 
sidered by  the  members  of  the  court,  prior  to  its 
presentation  in  the  following  month  to  the  Lords 
of  the  Council,  with  a  view  to  ratification  by  the 
Estates.  The  Assembly  adjourned  till  the  15th  of 
January, 4  the  date  on  which  Parliament  also  was 
to  meet ;  and  although  no  record  of  this  adjourned 
meeting  now  remains,  it  may  be  assumed'  that  the 
Book  of  Discipline  then  received  the  Church's 
approval;    for  at  the  ensuing  Assembly  of  May, 


1  Only  six  out  of  the  forty- two  were  ministers,  viz. :  Knox, 
Lyndsay,  Goodman,  Row,  Christison,  and  Harlaw  (Calder- 
wood,  Hist,  of  the  Kirk,  ii.,  44). 

2  Book  of  the  Universal  Kirk,  p.  1. 

3  Calderwood,  Hist,  of  the  Kirk,  ii.,  45-46.  Thirty-five 
ministers  and  eight  readers  were  appointed.  Among  those 
ordained  to  the  ministry  was  Erskine,  the  Laird  of  Dun, 
who  was  thereafter  appointed  Superintendent  of  Angus  and 
Mearns. 

4-  Ibid.,  p.  47. 


i56i]       Organisation  of  the  Church        251 

1 56 1,  the  document  is  twice  referred  to  as  an 
ecclesiastical  authority.1 

Very  different  was  the  reception  of  the  Reform- 
ers' polity  by  the  Estates.  The  Book  was  sub- 
scribed, indeed,  by  over  thirty  members  of  the 
Privy  Council,  with  a  reasonable  provision  that 
the  life-interests  of  beneficed  men  should  be  re- 
spected, on  condition  of  the  maintenance  of  a 
Reformed  ministry  in  their  respective  benefices.2 
If  the  document  had  consisted  merely  of  regula- 
tions for  the  worship,  organisation,  and  govern- 
ment of  the  Church,  it  would  probably  have  been 
endorsed  by  the  Estates ;  for  the  Reformed  Church, 
during  this  earliest  period  of  its  existence,  was 
allowed  by  the  State,  in  such  matters,  to  have 
a  pretty  free  hand.  But  the  recommendations  of 
the  Book  regarding  the  ecclesiastical  patrimony, 
and  the  assumption  that  the  Reformed  Church 
was  eventually  to  inherit  the  entire  property  of 
its  predecessor,  could  find  no  favour  with  land- 
owners who  (themselves  or  their  fathers)  had 
already  "greedily  gripped  to  the  possessions  of 


1  Calderwood,  Hist,  of  the  Kirk,  ii.,  p.  127. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  257,  258.  The  list  of  signatures  in- 
cludes the  names  of  the  Duke  of  Chatelherault,  Lord  James 
Stuart,  Earl  Marischal,  and  the  Earls  of  Argyll,  Menteith, 
and  Morton.  Maitland  of  Lethington  afterwards  declared, 
however,  that  "many  subscribed  in  fide  parentum,  as  the 
bairns  are  baptised  "  (Calderwood,  H.  of  K.,  ii.,  160) ;  and  his 
sneers  at  the  signatures  suggest  that  some  subscribed  in  the 
full  knowledge  that  there  was  no  prospect  of  the  Book  ever 
being  ratified  by  Parliament. 


252  John  Knox  [1560- 

the  Kirk,"  or  looked  on  her  remanent  wealth  with 
covetous  eyes.1  Knox  now  fully  realised  the  mer- 
cenary motives  of  a  portion  of  those  who  had 
zealously  joined  in  the  attack  on  the  old  Church. 
''Everything,"  he  writes,  "that  repugned  to  their 
corrupt  affections  was  termed,  in  their  mockage, 
devout  imaginations."  He  "wondered  how  men 
that  profess  godliness  could  of  so  long  continuance 
hear  the  threatenings  of  God  against  themselves," 
yet  "never  have  had  remorse  of  conscience,"  nor 
have  "intended  to  restore  anything  of  that  which 
they  had  stolen" ;  and  he  recalls  the  ancient  pro- 
verb, "The  belly  hath  no  ears."  2 

The  claim  of  Knox  and  his  colleagues  on  behalf 
of  the  Reformed  Church  to  the  whole  ecclesiastical 
patrimony  was  undoubtedly  a  large  one;  but  in 
view  of  the  national  duties  which  the  Church 
undertook  to  discharge, — charitable  and  educa- 
tional as  well  as  religious, — it  could  not  be  stigmat- 
ised as  selfish:  and  a  substantial  assessment  on 
ecclesiastical  as  well  as  secular  wealth  might  have 
sufficed  for  the  maintenance  of  other  national 
objects.  If  the  claim  had  been  conceded,  not  only 
would  the  provision  for  national  religion,  popular 
education,  and  relief  of  the  sick  and  poor  have 


1  It  must  in  fairness  be  stated,  however,  that  such  land- 
owners pleaded  that  the  church  property  had  been  bestowed 
by  their  own  forefathers  largely  in  return  for  the  promise  of 
masses  for  the  dead,  which  they  were  now  taught  to  regard  as 
profitless  and  blasphemous  services  (see  p.  13). 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  128,  129. 


i56i]       Organisation  of  the  Church       253 

been  permanently  adequate  without  the  imposi- 
tion of  national  burdens,  but,  as  an  incidental 
benefit,  the  bitter  conflict  which  lasted  for  a 
century  between  Presbyterianism  and  Episcopacy 
might  have  been  avoided.  For  the  covetous 
policy  of  misappropriating  church  property, 
adopted  by  leading  landowners,  led,  as  we  shall 
find,  to  the  earliest  movement  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  episcopate,  and  thus  inaugurated  a 
protracted  strife  which  was  terminated  only  by 
the  Revolution  Settlement  of  1690.1 

VIII.  If  the  Scottish  Parliament  gave  scant 
encouragement  to  the  claims  of  Knox  and  the 
Reformed  ministers  as  regards  the  Church's 
patrimony,  it  supplied  them  with  a  fresh  op- 
portunity of  vindicating  the  Church's  doctrine. 
A  discussion  was  arranged  in  presence  of  the 
Estates  between  representatives  of  the  old  faith 
and  of  the  new.  On  the  Romanist  side  were 
Principal  Anderson  of  King's  College,  Aber- 
deen; John  Lesley,  the  historian,  afterwards 
Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  Ross;  and  two  other 
ecclesiastics  of  less  note.  On  the  Protestant  side 
were  Knox,  Willock,  and  Goodman.  Two  accounts 
of  the  disputation  are  extant — one  by  Lesley,  the 

1  See  p.  350.  The  lack  of  adequate  sustentation  was  also 
one  cause  of  the  superintendentship  failing,  at  least  in  part, 
to  fulfil  the  purposes  of  its  institution ;  and  this  ofhce,  with 
its  subordination  to  the  General  Assembly,  might  have  been 
accepted  as  a  convenient  compromise  between  the  episco- 
pate and  the  presbyterate. 


254  John  Knox  [i56o- 

other  by  Knox.  Each  narrator,  as  was  to  be 
expected,  maintains  that  the  opposite  party  was 
discomfited  and  silenced.1  According  to  both 
historians  the  " Sacrifice  of  the  Altar"  occupied 
the  attention  of  the  controversialists  2 ;  and  ap- 
parently the  chief  point  of  interest  in  the 
discussion  was  an  apparent  disavowal  by  the 
Romanists  of  the  propitiatory  efficacy  of  the  mass. 
Anderson  is  represented  as  declaring  "Christ 
offered  the  propitiatory:  and  that  could  none  do 
but  He:  but  we  offer  the  remembrance."  If  the 
Principal  has  been  correctly  reported,  we  can 
imagine  (in  view  of  the  Protestant  claim  for  the 
conservation  of  the  Church's  patrimony)  the 
mingled  feelings  with  which  Knox  would  listen 
to  the  interpolation  of  some  nobles  who  were  acute 
enough  to  discern  the  bearing  of  the  question  on 
their  own  reappropriation  of  church  lands — "  If 
the  mass  may  not  obtain  remission  of  sins  to  the 
quick  and  to  the  dead,  wherefore  were  all  the 
abbacies  so  richly  endowed  with  our  temporal 
lands?" 

IX.    The  twelve  months  which  followed  the 
establishment  of  the  Reformation  were  for  Knox 


1  Lesley,  ii.,  448-450;    Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  138-141. 

2  Lesley  states  that  the  Protestants  asked  of  "the  verity 
and  manner  of  the  blessed  sacrament  and  sacrifice  of  the 
altar";  and  Knox  declares  "we  required  of  the  Papists 
principally  that  the  mass,  and  the  opinion  thereof  by  them 
taught  unto  the  people,  be  laid  to  the  square-rule  of  God's 
Word." 


i56i]       Organisation  of  the  Church       255 

a  year  not  only  of  public  activity,  but  of  liter- 
ary labour  and  of  domestic  trouble.  During 
the  autumn  of  1560,  while  the  Book  of  Disci- 
pline was  being  revised  by  the  Swiss  Reformers, 
Knox  occupied  himself  with  that  portion  of  his 
History  of  the  Reformation  which  was  originally 
intended  to  be  the  whole,  viz.,  the  narrative 
of  the  final  conflict  in  which  he  and  his  fellow- 
Reformers  had  just  been  engaged.1  He  desig- 
nates this  part  of  the  History  as  a  "Confession"; 
and  the  original  motive  of  its  composition  was 
fully  as  much  apologetic  as  historical.  It  is  a 
vindication  of  the  Scottish  religious  revolution 
and  of  its  chief  promoters  before  their  fellow- 
countrymen  and  before  the  world. 

"  In  this  our  Confession,"  he  writes,  "we  shall  faith- 
fully declare  what  moved  us  to  put  our  hands  to  the 
reformation  of  religion;  to  the  end  that  as  well  our 
enemies  and  our  brethren  in  all  realms  may  under- 
stand how  falsely  we  are  accused  of  tumult  and  re- 
bellion: as  also  that  our  brethren,  natural  Scotsmen, 
of  whatever  religion  they  be,  may  have  occasion  to 
examine  themselves  if  they  may  with  safe  conscience 
oppose  themselves  to  us  who  seek  nothing  but  Jesus 
Christ's  Evangel  to  be  preached;  His  holy  sacra- 
ments to  be  truly  ministered;  superstition,  tyranny 
and  idolatry  to  be  suppressed;  and  finally  our 
native  country  to  remain  free  from  the  bondage 
of  strangers."  2 

1  This  is  the  portion  of  the  History  now  contained  in  Book 
II.  and  part  of  III.         2  Pref .  to  Book  II.  in  H.of  R.,l,  278. 


256  John  Knox  [1560- 

The  first  express  reference  to  the  work  as  in 
progress  is  found  in  a  letter  of  Knox,  dated  23rd 
October,  1559  *;  but  it  must  have  been  com- 
menced at  a  considerably  earlier  date.2  By  the 
end  of  September,  1560,  one  Book  (what  is  now 
the  Second)  had  been  completed,  bringing  the 
History  down  to  November,  1559  3;  and  the  Re- 
former had  probably  written  part  of  what  is  now 
Book  III.  before  the  close  of  the  year,  in  a  brief 
interval  of  comparative  exemption  from  public 
work  and  worry.*  One  cannot  but  marvel  at  the 
diligence  with  which  Knox,  amid  pulpit  and  pas- 
toral work,  "care  of  all  the  Churches, "  and  con- 
stant employment  in  ecclesiastical  business  and 
negotiations,  nevertheless  occupied  his  few  leisure 
hours  with  the  composition  of  a  History  for  which 
he  himself  was  largely  providing  the  materials. 
He  undertook  the  task  with  a  view  to  no  im- 
mediate controversial  advantage  (for  he  declined 
to  let  the  work  be  published  in  his  lifetime  5)>  but 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  87. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  383.  In  October,  1559,  he  was  writing 
about  events  which  took  place  so  late  as  August  of  that  year. 

3  Letter  of  Randolph,  in  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  121. 

4  The  other  Books,  viz.,  what  is  now  Book  I.  (containing  a 
narrative  of  earlier  straggles  after  Reformation),  and  Book 
IV.,  bringing  the  record  down  to  June,  1564,  were  completed 
in  1566  (Laing,  i.,  p.  xxviii.).  Book  V.,  which  continues 
the  History  to  Queen  Mary's  abdication,  was  afterwards 
added  by  an  unknown  hand,  on  the  basis,  probably,  of 
documents  found  among  Knox's  papers  after  his  death. 

s  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  558. 


i56i]       Organisation  of  the  Church       257 

in  order  to  supply  an  effective  vindication  of  him- 
self and  of  his  colleagues  after  his  removal  from 
the  world.  It  is  not  the  manner  of  fanatics, 
among  whom  Knox  has  sometimes  been  classed, 
thus  to  look  beyond  the  turbid  judgment  of  con- 
temporaries to  the  calmer  verdict  of  posterity. 
That  Knox's  History  should  be  one-sided  was  in- 
evitable; that  his  language  is  sometimes  intem- 
perate is  undeniable ;  his  chronology  is  sometimes 
inaccurate ;  but  the  honesty  of  the  writer  and  the 
substantial  trustworthiness  of  his  record  of  events 
within  his  own  experience  have  been  generally  ad- 
mitted. As  a  literary  work  the  History  holds  a 
notable  place  on  account  of  its  vivid  descriptions, 
its  trenchant  diction,  and  its  dramatic  union  of 
grim  earnestness  with  bright  humour. 

Along  with  literary  labour  this  first  year  of  the 
Scottish  Reformed  Church  brought  to  Knox  heavy 
domestic  trouble.  In  December,  1560,  the  wife 
for  whose  arrival  in  Scotland  he  had  longed,1  and 
to  whose  self-denying  helpfulness  during  a  period 
of  labour  and  anxiety  he  bears,  as  we  have  seen, 
incidental  testimony,  was  taken  away;  and  the 
Reformer  was  left  a  widower  with  the  two  boys 
born  at  Geneva,  who  had  scarcely  yet  emerged 
from  infancy.  A  brief  but  pathetic  parenthesis  in 
his  History  describes  the  "no  small  heaviness" 
which  he  suffered  "by  reason  of  the  late  death  of 
his  dear  bed -fellow,  Marjorie  Bowes"2;  and  her 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  27.  2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  138. 


25S  John  Knox  [I56o- 

place  in  his  household  was  but  imperfectly  sup- 
plied by  a  mother-in-law  who  continued  to  vex 
her  own  and  her  son-in-law's  soul  with  her 
' '  troubled  conscience. ' ' '  Among  those  who  wrote 
to  comfort  Knox  in  his  sorrow  was  John  Calvin, 
to  whom  the  bereavement  of  "his  most  excellent 
brother,  .  .  .  deprived  of  the  most  delightful 
of  wives,"  was  "grief  and  bitterness."  2 

This  domestic  grief  came  to  Knox  amid  political 
anxiety.  The  French  Government  had  not  rati- 
fied the  Treaty  of  Leith,  entered  into  by  its 
own  representatives.  The  Queen  of  Scots  and  her 
Consort,  King  Francis,  had  declined  to  confirm  the 
recent  Acts  of  the  Estates.  The  powerful  house 
of  Guise  was  impelled  at  once  by  religious 
and  by  personal  considerations  to  promote  a 
policy  of  French  intervention.  The  Scottish 
Catholics,  accordingly,  had  reason  to  hope,  and 
the  Scottish  Protestants  to  fear,  a  French  inva- 
sion; while  the  Queen  of  England,  who  grudged 
the  cost  of  the  expedition  of  1559,  was  in  no  mood 
to  promise  a  renewal  of  assistance.  "When  all 
these  things  came  to  our  ears,"  writes  Knox, 
' '  many  were  eflrayed ' ' ;  and  it  required  all  the 
power  of  himself  and  of  other  Reformed  preachers 
to  assure  the  people  that  God  would  "perform  in 
all  perfection  that  work  which  was  not  ours  but 
His  own."  3     What  was  regarded  as  a  "wonder- 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  513. 

2  Letter  of  Calvin,  in  Laing,  vi.,  124,  125. 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  131,  132. 


is6i]       Organisation  of  the  Church       259 

ful  deliverance"   unexpectedly  took  place.     By 
the   death  of  King  Francis,   on    5th  December, 
1560,  "  the  pride  of  the  Papists  in  Scotland  began 
to  be  abated."     "  They  perceived  God  to  fight  for 
us."     The  danger  of  Scotland  becoming  an  appan- 
age of  France,  and  of  French  policy  and  religion 
being  imposed  by  force  on  the  Scottish  people, 
was  removed.      Mary  might  or  might   not  con- 
form to   the   faith   of   the  majority  of   her   sub- 
jects;   but  at  any  rate  she  would  no  longer  be 
supported  in  her  policy  by  the  power  of  a  French 
husband  and  sovereign  who  claimed  to  be  King 
of  Scotland.1     Still,  as  the   Queen's  widowhood 
practically  involved  her  return  to  Scotland,  the 
deliverance    in     which    the     Reformer    rejoiced 
was  accompanied  by  a  peril  which  he  had  good 
cause  to  fear.     If,  however,  as  appears  to  be  the 
case,    he   was   the   confidant   of   the    Protestant 
Earl  of  Arran  in  the  latter's  aspirations  at  this 
time   after  Mary's   hand,2  he  may  have  hoped, 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  137.  Incidental  testimony  is  borne  to 
the  personal  importance  of  Knox,  and  to  his  intimacy  with 
well-informed  and  influential  friends  on  the  Continent,  by  the 
fact  that  he  appears  to  have  had  the  earliest  intimation  in 
Scotland  of  the  French  King's  mortal  illness. 

2  Knox  records  the  fact  of  Arran's  letter  to  Mary  with  the 
significant  accompaniment  of  a  ring,  and  also  the  receipt  by 
the  Earl  of  a  discouraging  answer.  He  adds  that  the  Earl 
"bare  it  more  heavily  than  many  would  have  wist"  (Knox, 
H.  of  R.,  ii.,  137)  ;  as  if  he  (Knox)  knew  more  of  the  circum- 
stances than  others;  and  Randolph,  on  the  same  subject, 
declares  (January,  1561)  that  "of  all  these  matters  there  is 
no  man  privy  except  Knox"  (Laing,  W .  of  K.,  vi.,  122). 


260  John  Knox  [1560-1561] 

not  unnaturally,  that  a  young  widow  of  eighteen, 
under  the  guidance  of  a  Protestant  husband  as 
well  as  a  Protestant  brother,  and  removed  from 
the  immediate  influence  of  a  Catholic  Court  and 
kindred,  would  not  give  serious  trouble  to  the 
Scottish  Reformed  Church.  He  was  destined  ere- 
long to  discover  that  Mary  Stuart,  as  Queen  of 
France,  was  in  reality  much  less  a  cause  for  Pro- 
testant anxiety  than  Mary  as  resident  Queen  of 
Scotland. 


CHAPTER  X 

KNOX    AND    QUEEN    MARY 
1561-1563 

THE  encounter  between  John  Knox  and  Mary 
Stuart  not  only  constitutes  one  of  the  most 
interesting  episodes  in  the  biographies  of  the 
Reformer  and  of  the  Queen,  but  occupies  a 
conspicuous  place  in  Scottish  history.  No  two 
personalities  could  be  more  dissimilar  than  the 
Puritan  Protestant  who  revered  Calvin  as  master, 
and  the  bright  young  Queen  who  had  presided  over 
the  gayest  Court  in  Christendom.  No  two  stand- 
points could  be  more  divergent  than  those  of  the 
man  whose  life-work  was  to  build  up  a  strong  and 
independent  Reformed  Church,  and  of  the  woman 
who  had  been  educated  in  the  belief  that  absolute 
submission  to  princes  was  a  religious  duty,  and 
that  her  own  mission  was  to  restore  the  Roman 
Church  in  Scotland.  A  keen  encounter  between 
the  two  was  predetermined :  unpleasant  personal 
relations  were  almost  inevitable. 

I.    The    leaders    of  the    Scottish   Reformation 
do  not  appear  to  have  questioned  the  propriety, 

261 


262  John  Knox  [i56i- 

however  some  of  them  might  anticipate  the  dan- 
ger of  the  Queen  of  Scots  living  and  reigning,  after 
the  death  of  her  husband,  the  King  of  France, 
henceforth  in  her  native  land.  Their  attention  in 
the  early  part  of  1561  was  devoted  to  the  best 
means  of  preventing  her  presence  from  injuring 
the  Protestant  cause.  There  was  reason  for 
vigilance  and  consideration.  Three  hundred  let- 
ters had  been  despatched  by  Mary  to  various 
Scots  of  standing  in  the  prospect  of  her  early 
return.  The  Catholic  bishops  assembled  at  Stir- 
ling in  the  spring  of  1561  to  take  counsel  in 
view  of  the  changed  and  (from  their  point  of 
view)  more  hopeful  circumstances.  The  Catholic 
lords  were  credited  with  a  design  to  seize  the 
capital.  In  the  month  of  April,  Bishop  Lesley 
was  in  France  with  authority  to  propose,  on 
their  behalf,  that  the  Queen  should  land  some- 
where in  the  north  of  Scotland,  where  Romanism 
was  strong,  and  be  received  by  an  army  of  10,000. 
"The  Papists,"  writes  Knox,  "began  to  brag  as  if 
they  would  have  defaced  the  Protestants."  r 

1.  The  first  object  of  the  Reformers  was  to 
strengthen  the  new  edifice  of  the  Protestant 
Church,  in  order  to  increase  the  difficulty  of 
undermining  its  stability  and  of  interfering  with 
its  polity.  Here  the  General  Assembly  took 
the  initiative.  The  Church  had  failed,  as  we 
have  seen,  to  secure  the  transference  to  herself  of 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  156-161;    Lesley,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  450. 


H    ^  h, 


Ik 

I 


1__ 


iS63]      Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      263 

the  ancient  ecclesiastical  patrimony;  but  much, 
nevertheless,  had  been  accomplished.  A  Re- 
formed Confession  had  been  adopted;  the  mass 
had  been  proscribed  as  idolatry;  the  General  As- 
sembly, as  a  supreme  ecclesiastical  court,  had  been 
constituted;  a  Reformed  Order  of  Worship  had 
been  instituted;  the  ranks  of  the  Reformed  min- 
istry had  been  largely  supplemented ;  and  five  out 
of  ten  proposed  superintendents  had  been  ap- 
pointed for  the  completion  of  the  Church's  organ- 
isation and  for  the  supervision  of  her  work.1  The 
General  Assembly  which  met  in  May,  1561,  en- 
deavoured to  fortify  yet  further  the  position  of 
the  Reformed  Church.  It  addressed  a  Supplica- 
tion to  the  Privy  Council  demanding  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  already  prohibited  mass,  the  removal 
from  churches  of  all  remaining  monuments  of 
idolatry,  and  the  further  "plantation"  as  well  as 
adequate  sustenance  of  Reformed  superintend- 
ents, ministers,  exhorters,  and  readers.  These  re- 
quirements were  approved  by  the  Privy  Council ; 
and  thus,  according  to  Knox,  whose  influence  in 
framing  the  petition  and  securing  its  favourable 
reception  is  apparent,  "gat  Satan  the  second 
fall."  2 

2.  The  next  point  was  to  make  it  clear  to  the 
Queen    that    French    interference   with   Scottish 

1  These  superintendents,  although  nominated  on  20th 
December,  1560  (Universal  Kirk,  1-3),  were  not  actually 
set  apart  until  March,  1561  (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  iii.,  144). 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  161,  164. 


264  John  Knox  [1561- 

policy  would  not  be  tolerated.  Here  the  Estates 
appropriately  intervened.  An  opportunity  for  ef- 
fective testimony  in  this  direction  arrived  on  the 
1 8th  of  February,  when  ambassadors  came  from 
Mary  to  Scotland,  followed  by  a  similar  embassy 
from  Catherine  de'  Medici,  the  Regent  of  France.1 
The  main  object  of  both  legations  was  to  obtain 
a  renewal  of  the  ancient  French  alliance ;  and  an 
attempt  also  appears  to  have  been  made  to  se- 
cure for  the  Roman  episcopate  and  priesthood  the 
continued  possession  of  the  ecclesiastical  patri- 
mony. The  Estates,  at  their  meeting  in  May, 
made  it  sufficiently  clear  that  they  would  enter 
into  no  such  alliance  with  a  nation  which  had 
"helped  to  persecute  them"  as  would  involve  a 
breach  of  the  existing  league  with  those  who  had 
helped  to  deliver  them;  and  "  as  Scotland  had  for- 
saken the  Pope  and  papistry,"  Scotsmen  "could 
not  be  debtors  to  his  foresworn  vassals."  2 

3 .  The  third  ob j  ect  was  to  ensure  that  the  Queen , 
on  her  return,  should  abstain  from  overturning 
the  new  ecclesiastical  settlement ;  and  should  re- 
tain as  her  advisers  those  who  were  the  recognised 
leaders  of  the  nation.  For  the  attainment  of  this 
end,  Lord  James  Stewart,  at  the  request  of  the 
Estates,  although  without  any  definite  commis- 
sion, visited  Queen  Mary  in  April.  He  had  little 
difficulty  in  convincing  his  sister  that,  even  from 


1  Diur.  of  Occ.  p  64;  Labanoff,  Letters  of  Mary  Stuart,  i.,  80. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  166,  167. 


i563]      Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      265 

her  own  religious  standpoint,  it  would  be  unwise 
to  attempt  any  reversal,  meanwhile  at  least,  of 
the  Scottish  ecclesiastical  policy,  or  even  to  effect 
any  substantial  change  in  the  personnel  of  her 
ministers  of  State.  The  same  counsel  appears  to 
have  been  given  to  the  Queen  by  her  French  ad- 
visers.1 Mary  was  a  zealous  Catholic,  and  her 
kinsmen  in  France  were  hopeful  that  through  her 
instrumentality  not  only  Scotland,  but  England, 
would  eventually  be  regained  for  Rome.  But  the 
proposal  of  the  more  sanguine  Scottish  Roman- 
ists to  attempt  at  this  juncture  a  political  and 
ecclesiastical  counter-revolution  was  regarded 
even  in  France  as  impracticable.  It  was  neces- 
sary (they  considered)  for  Mary  to  temporise  in 
order  ultimately  to  triumph ;  and  for  the  present, 
accordingly,  it  was  advised  that  "two  should 
walk  together"  even  although  not  "agreed." 

The  danger  to  the  Reformed  cause  from  the  re- 
turn of  Queen  Mary  was  thus  lessened ;  but  it  was 
not  removed.  She  resolutely  declined,  and  was 
not  constrained,  to  ratify  the  Treaty  of  Leith, 
according  to  which  foreign  troops  were  to  be 
permanently  withdrawn  from  Scotland ;  the  pos- 
sibility, therefore,  of  subsequent  French  in- 
tervention, with  the  Queen's  sanction,  was  not 
foreclosed.2       She     continued     to    refrain    from 


1  Sir  James  Melville,  Memoirs,  31 ;  Nau,  Mary  Stuart,  116. 

2  See  Throgmorton  to  Queen  Elizabeth  in  Knox,  H.  of  R., 
ii.,  169-174.  The  chief  reason  of  Mary's  "refusal"  to  con- 
firm the  treaty  was,  doubtless,  the  acknowledgment  which 


266  John  Knox  [1561- 

confirming  the  Parliament  or  Convention  of  1560, 
by  which  Protestantism  had  been  established ;  and 
thus  a  door  was  left  open  for  repudiation  when 
opportunity  might  arrive.1  She  held  out  no  hope 
of  changing  her  religion,  as  Henry  IV.  afterwards 
did  in  somewhat  analogous  circumstances ;  and  her 
Romanism  could  not  fail  to  foster  a  Catholic  party 
both  at  the  Court  and  in  the  country.  Finally,  her 
personal  antagonism  to  John  Knox  had  even  then 
been  manifested,  and  was  known  in  Reformed 
circles.  "The  Queen  of  Scotland"— so  the  Eng- 
lish ambassador  in  France,  Throgmorton,  wrote 
to  Queen  Elizabeth  in  July,  1 561— "is  thoroughly 
persuaded  that  the  most  dangerous  man  in  all  her 
realm  of  Scotland  is  Knox."  2 

II.  At  the  time  of  Mary's  arrival  in  Scotland, 
on  the  19th  August,  1561,  the  attitude  of  Knox 
as  well  as  of  other  Reformers  was  one  of  anxiety 
and  suspicion.  On  the  day  of  her  landing  at 
Leith  he  saw  a  "forewarning"  in  the  "very  face 
of  Heaven,  which  did  manifestly  speak  of  dolour, 
darkness  and  all  impiety."  There  was  "cor- 
ruption of  the  air";  "the  mist  was  thick  and 
dark  .  .  .  the  sun  was  not  seen  to  shine  two 
days  before,   nor   two   days   after."  3     The   safe 


it  contained  of  Elizabeth  as  legitimate  Queen  of  England; 
but  the  exclusion  of  French  soldiers  was  also,  presumably, 
in  the  Scottish  Queen's  mind. 

1  Diur.  of  Occ,  pp.  62,  280,  281. 

2  Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  vi.,  467. 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  269. 


i563]      Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      267 

arrival  of  the  Queen,  moreover,  was  signalised  by 
the  pardon  of  some  criminals,  riotous  craftsmen 
of  Edinburgh;  and  Knox  discerned  beneath  this 
act  of  grace  a  sinister  purpose,  as  the  culprits  (so 
he  held)  had  committed  their  offence  "in  despite 
of  the  religion."  * 

With  more  reason  the  preparations  made  for 
"that  idol,  the  mass,  to  be  said  in  the  Chapel"  of 
Holyrood,  "pierced  the  heart  of  the  Reformer." 
The  service,  indeed,  was  stated  to  be  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  Queen's  uncles  and  other  Frenchmen 
who  had  accompanied  her  on  the  journey;  but 
Knox  was  not  deceived  by  this  plea  of  the  over- 
complacent  (as  the  Reformer  considered)  Lord 
James  Stewart,  who  stood  as  guard  at  the  chapel 
door,  in  order,  as  he  said,  to  stop  all  Scotsmen 
from  taking  part  in  the  idolatry.2  The  Queen's 
personal  participation  in  the  mass  was  tacitly  ad- 
mitted ;  and  the  Reformer  was  not  pacified  by  the 
proclamation  issued  that  morning  by  the  Privy 
Council  in  the  Queen's  name.  The  proclamation 
began  by  threatening  with  death  those  who  might 
"  attempt  any  thing  against  the  form  [of  religion] 
which  her  Majesty  found  publicly  standing  at  her 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  270.  They  had  violently  rescued  the 
deacon  of  the  butchers,  who  had  been  accused  of  bigamy; 
but  who  pleaded  that  he  had  been  "lawfully  parted  "  trom  his 
first  wife  "  after  the  manner  of  the  papistical  religion  "  {ibid., 

i55)- 

2  Ibid.,  ii.,  271.  The  chapel  in  which  the  mass  was  cele- 
brated was  not  the  Church  of  Holyrood  Abbey,  but  a  private 
chapel  in  the  Palace  (see  Hay  Fleming,  Mary  Q.  of  S.,  257). 


268  John  Knox  [i56i~ 

arrival  in  this  her  realm";  but  it  proceeded  to 
warn  all  not  to  "molest  any  of  her  domestic 
servants,  or  persons  whosoever  came  forth  of 
France,  for  any  cause  whatsoever."  * 

On  the  following  Sunday  Knox  relieved  his  con- 
science. From  the  pulpit  of  St.  Giles'  he  testified 
that  "one  mass  was  more  fearful  to  him  than  if 
10,000  armed  enemies  were  landed  in  any  part  of 
the  realm,  of  purpose  to  suppress  the  whole  re- 
ligion." Four  years  later  he  acknowledged  that 
he  had  "done  most  wickedly"  that  day;  not  be- 
cause he  had  spoken  too  strongly,  but  because  he 
had  not  gone  further,  and  "  done  what  in  him  lay 
to  have  suppressed  that  idol  in  the  beginning."  2 
Our  modern  principles  of  religious  toleration  ren- 
der it  difficult  for  us  to  sympathise  with  Knox's 
Protestant  thoroughness;  yet,  after  all,  he  was 
only  anticipating  the  provision  made  at  the  Revo- 
lution of  1689,  by  which  to  this  day  "Papists" 
are  "debarred  from  the  British  Crown,"  and  the 
Sovereign  of  Great  Britain  renounces  the  doc- 
trine of  transubstantiation.  The  Catholics  of 
Scotland,  moreover,  had  not  yet  given  up  the 
hope  of  a  counter-revolution;  Scottish  Protest- 
antism was  still  in  danger,  and  the  event  proved 
that  Knox's  fears  were  far  from  groundless.  In 
any  case  the  allowance  of  mass  in  Holyrood 
Chapel,  after  it  had  been  proscribed  by  statute, 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  273. 

2  Ibid.,  ii,  277;   comp.  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi,  131. 


i563]      Interviews  with  Queen  Mary     269 

was  an  obvious  inconsistency,  justifiable  only  as  a 
necessary  compromise  adopted  to  prevent  civil 
war.  The  Reformer  received  little  encouragement 
in  his  protest.  The  only  man  of  high  rank,  ap- 
parently, who  supported  him  publicly  was  the 
Earl  of  Arran ;  and  within  a  year  this  nobleman 
became  insane.  "As  the  Lords  of  the  Congrega- 
tion,' '  writes  Knox,  "repaired  unto  the  town,  at 
the  first  coming  they  shewed  themselves  wonder- 
fully offended  that  the  mass  was  permitted;  so 
that  every  man,  as  he  came,  accused  them  that 
were  before  him;  but  after  they  had  remained  a 
certain  space,  they  were  as  quiet  as  were  the 
former."  He  quotes  with  evident  gusto  a  sarcastic 
saying  of  Robert  Campbell  of  Kinyeancleuch,  that 
the  "holy  water  of  the  Court  sprinkled  on  them 
took  away  all  their  fervency";  and  he  adds  that 
men  were  blinded  to  the  peril  of  toleration,  on  the 
one  hand,  by  the  Queen's  constant  outcry  against 
the  attempt "  to  constrain  the  conscience  "  ;  on  the 
other  hand,  by  the  subtle  suggestion  of  some  that, 
if  gently  dealt  with,  she  might  be  won  to  the  Re- 
formed side.1  It  is  not  likely  that  Lord  James 
Stewart  and  Maitland  of  Lethington,  who  became 
the  chief  ministers  of  State,  were  either  fascinated 
or  deceived;  but  they  considered,  doubtless,  as 
men  of  the  world,  that  the  toleration  of  a  single 
private  mass  in  the  Palace  chapel  was  a  moderate 
price  to  be  paid  for  the  practical  endorsement 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  274-276. 


270  John  Knox  [i56i- 

which  Mary  had  given  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Reformed  faith. 

III.  A  few  days  after  his  sermon  in  St.  Giles', 
Knox  was  invited  by  the  Queen  to  a  private  col- 
loquy at  Holyrood.  The  interview  was  presum- 
ably approved  and  probably  suggested  by  her 
brother  and  Maitland.  They  could  have  little  ex- 
pectation that  Knox  would  persuade  Mary  to  re- 
nounce the  mass ;  but  they  may  have  had  some 
hope  that  the  Reformer  might  be  won  over  by 
the  Queen  to  their  own  moderate  standpoint.1 
For  a  detailed  account  of  the  conference  we  are 
dependent  on  Knox's  narrative  alone,2  although 
Lord  James  was  present ;  but  the  record  bears  in- 
ternal marks  of  truth.  Mary  was  no  unworthy 
antagonist,  intellectually,  at  least,  of  the  Re- 
former. In  a  letter  to  Cecil,  written  six  weeks 
after  the  interview,  Knox  admits  that  he  observed 
in  her  a  "shrewdness  beyond  her  years"3;  and 
the  report  of  the  interview  discloses  no  little 
acuteness  in  the  Queen's  reasoning.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  Mary,  at  the  outset,  did  not  omit  an 
endeavour  to  exert  over  the  Reformer  that  fasci- 


1  In  a  letter  to  Throgmorton,  written  on  the  day  of  the 
interview,  Randolph  testifies  to  the  great  influence  of  Knox 
at  this  time,  and  indicates  the  need  which  must  have  been 
felt  of  securing  his  concurrence  in  the  policy  of  moderation. 
"I  fear  nothing  so  much  as  that  one  day  he  will  mar  all.  .  .  . 
He  ruleth  the  roost  and  of  him  all  men  stand  in  fear"  (Laing, 
W.  of  K.,  vi.,  129). 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  277-286. 

3  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  132 ;   comp.  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  286. 


i563]     Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      271 

nating  influence  which  had  been  successful  in  the 
case  of  others;  she  declared  afterwards  that  she 
had  "  sought "  his  "  favours  by  all  possible 
means,"1  but  the  conversation  apparently  soon 
drifted  into  a  discussion  of  various  grounds 
of  complaint  against  him.  Two  charges  against 
the  Reformer  were  stated,  which  referred  chiefly 
to  his  ministry  in  England.  On  one  of  these,  how- 
ever, little  stress  seems  to  have  been  laid.  It  was 
his  alleged  " necromancy"  practised  in  England 
— a  fatuous  invention  of  Romanists  which  simply 
attests  the  Reformer's  acknowledged  power.  The 
reference  to  it  by  the  Queen  gave  Knox  an  oppor- 
tunity of  saying  that  he,  "  wretched  sinner,"  must 
patiently  bear  an  accusation  which  had  also  been 
made  against  Christ  Himself ;  and  that  so  far  from 
being  guilty  of  the  offence,  he  could  bring  numer- 
ous witnesses  to  his  having  "spoken  against  such 
arts,  and  against  those  that  had  used  such  im- 
piety." The  other  charge,  connected  with  his 
ministry  in  England,  was  that  he  had  been  "the 
cause  of  great  sedition  and  slaughter  there" — a 
charge  which  rested,  presumably,  on  his  continu- 
ing to  preach  Protestant  doctrine  after  Mary 
Tudor's  accession,  and  on  his  writings  circulated 
in  that  country  during  her  reign.  From  his  own 
standpoint,  Knox  had  no  difficulty  in  answering 
that  the  charge  was  without  foundation,  unless 
"to  teach  the  truth  of  God  in  sincerity,  to  rebuke 

*  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  387. 


272  John  Knox  [1561- 

idolatry,  and  to  will  a  people  to  worship  God  ac- 
cording to  His  Word  be  to  raise  subjects  against 
their  princes."  The  charge  of  causing  sedition, 
however,  was  based  chiefly  on  the  Monstrous  Regi- 
ment of  Women,  and  the  publication  of  this  work 
formed  the  third  count  in  the  Queen's  indictment. 
This  unfortunate  treatise  could  not  be  disowned ; 
but  Knox  explains  that  the  work  had  been  com- 
posed with  special  reference,  not  to  her  Majesty, 
but  to  Queen  Mary  of  England;  and  he  adds 
that  "if  the  realm  [of  Scotland]  finds  no  incon- 
venience from  the  regiment  of  a  woman  .  .  . 
neither  I  nor  that  book  shall  hurt  you  or  your 
authority."  With  characteristic  plain -spoken- 
ness,  however,  even  when  wishing  to  be  concilia- 
tory, he  designates  Mary  Tudor  a  "wicked 
Jezebel,"  and  introduces  with  quite  unconscious 
offensiveness,  the  assurance  that  he  would  be  "as 
well  content  to  live  under  your  Grace  as  Paul 
under  Nero"  ! 

The  interview  between  the  Queen  and  the  Re- 
former culminated  in  the  important  question  of 
subjects  resisting  their  princes  and  rejecting  their 
princes'  religion.  "Ye  have  taught  the  people," 
said  Mary  "to  receive  another  religion  than 
that  which  their  princes  can  allow,  and  how  can 
that  doctrine  be  of  God,  seeing  that  God  com- 
mandeth  subjects  to  obey  their  princes?"  Knox 
quoted,  in  reply,  the  example  of  Daniel  and  his 
fellows  under  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Darius,  in  the 


i563]     Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      273 

Old  Testament,  and  of  the  Apostles  tinder  the 
Roman  Emperors,  in  the  New.  "  But  none  of 
these,"  aptly  interposed  the  Queen,  "raised  the 
sword  against  their  princes."  "God,"  rejoined 
Knox,  "had  not  given  to  them  the  power  and  the 
means."  "  But,  think  ye,"  persisted  Mary,  "that 
subjects  having  power  may  thus  resist?"  Knox, 
in  his  illustrations  from  Scripture  had  evaded  this 
crucial  point;  but  the  Queen's  acuteness  in  rea- 
soning constrained  him  now  to  avow  a  conviction 
in  direct  antagonism  to  the  famous  compromise 
of  Augsburg  in  1555 — cujus  regio  ejus  religio.  He 
boldly  proclaimed  the  doctrine  which  is  now  (at 
least  in  most  civilised  countries)  a  truism,  but 
was  then  a  paradox,  and  which  the  British  nation 
learned  only  through  the  fiery  ordeals  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century — the  principle  of  limited  and 
constitutional  monarchy.  This  doctrine,  received 
by  Knox  and  Buchanan  long  before  from  John 
Major,1  was  now  enunciated  with  great  plainness 
before  Mary.  "  If  princes  exceed  their  bounds, 
and  do  against  that  wherefore  they  should  be 
obeyed,  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  may  be  re- 
sisted even  with  power."  Knox  illustrates  the 
duty  of  subject  to  prince  by  that  of  child  to  par- 
ent.    A  frenzied  father  might  attempt  the  life  of 


1  See  p.  23.  Buchanan  afterwards  unfolded  the  doctrine 
in  his  De  Jure  Regni  (1579) — the  possession  of  which  book 
was  declared  penal  by  the  Scottish  Parliament  in  1584;  while, 
a  century  later,  the  University  of  Oxford  committed  it  to  the 
flames.     See  Hume  Brown,  George  Buchanan,  269,  270. 


274  John  Knox  [i56i- 

his  own  children;  if  the  children  bound  and  im- 
prisoned him  till  the  frenzy  was  passed,  would 
they  be  doing  wrong? 

"It  is  even  so  with  princes  that  would  murder  the 
children  of  God  that  are  subject  to  them.  Their 
blind  zeal  is  nothing  but  a  very  mad  frenzy;  and 
therefore,  to  take  their  sword  from  them,  to  bind 
their  hands,  and  to  cast  themselves  into  prison  till 
they  be  brought  to  a  more  sober  mind,  is  no  dis- 
obedience against  princes  but  just  obedience, because 
it  agreeth  with  the  Will  of  God." 

Mary  was  not  accustomed  to  such  plain  speak- 
ing. "She  stood  as  it  were  amazed";  and  at 
length  answered  somewhat  pettishly,  "I  perceive 
my  subjects  shall  obey  you  and  not  me."  "My 
travail,"  said  Knox,  "is  that  both  princes  and 
subjects  obey  God."  Afterwards,  in  reply  to 
Knox's  reminder  that  God  "craves  of  kings  that 
they  be,  as  it  were,  foster-fathers  to  His  Church, 
and  commands  queens  to  be  nurses  to  His  people," 
Mary  declared  readily,  "Yes,  but  ye  are  not  the 
Kirk  that  I  will  nourish :  I  will  defend  the  Kirk 
of  Rome;  for  I  think  it  is  the  true  Kirk  of  God." 
Thereupon  Knox,  after  the  manner  of  the  po- 
lemics of  the  time,  roughly  denounced  the 
Roman  "harlot."  Mary  pleaded  "conscience"; 
and  when  Knox  responded  that  conscience 
must  be  enlightened  by  the  Word  of  God,  and 
proceeded   to   demonstrate   that   the    mass  was 


iS63]     Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      275 

unscriptural,  Mary  dexterously  referred  to  di- 
verse interpretations  by  different  doctors,  adding, 
"Whom  shall  I  believe?"  "Ye  are  owre  sair 
for  me,"  she  continued;  "but  if  they  were  here 
that  I  have  heard,  they  would  answer  you." 
Knox  replied  that  the  "  Papists  never  would  come 
to  conference,  unless  they  themselves  were  ad- 
mitted for  judges";  and  that  he  "would  to  God 
the  learnedest  Papist  in  Europe  were  present 
to  sustain  the  argument."  But  the  Queen,  hav- 
ing already  heard  probably  of  Ninian  Winzet's 
forthcoming  controversial  Tractates,1  was  able 
to  tell  her  visitor,  "Well,  ye  may  perchance 
get  that  sooner  than  ye  believe."  The  discussion 
was  interrupted  by  the  dinner  hour;  and  Knox 
who,  in  spite  of  roughness  of  speech,  begotten  by 
constant  controversy,  had  the  heart  of  a  gentle- 
man, closed  the  interview  with  the  loyal  wish  and 
prayer,  in  which  a  virtual  surrender  of  the  extreme 
doctrine  of  the  Monstrous  Regiment  was  implied, 
that  the  Queen  might  be  "as  blessed  within  the 
Commonwealth  of  Scotland  as  ever  Deborah  was 
in  the  Commonwealth  of  Israel."  His  hopeless- 
ness, however,  as  to  any  change  in  Mary's  attitude 
to  the  Reformed  Faith  was  expressed  in  his  em- 
phatic answer  to  some  "familiars"  who  asked  him 
what  he  thought  of  the  Queen.  "  If  there  be  not 
in  her  a  proud  mind,  a  crafty  wit,  and  an  indurate 


1  The  earliest  of  these  was  issued  in  February,  1562      See 
Additional  Note  at  the  end  of  this  Chapter. 


2;6  John  Knox  [i56i- 

heart  against  God  and  His  truth,  my  judgment 
faileth  me."  x 

IV.  This  first  encounter  between  Queen  Mary 
and  Knox  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  relations  which 
existed  between  them.  Four  other  private  inter- 
views are  recorded;  each,  like  the  first,  being  on 
Mary's  own  invitation,  not  at  Knox's  request. 
The  earliest  of  these  was  in  December,  1562,  after 
a  sermon  at  St.  Giles',  in  which  the  Reformer  had 
referred  to  princes  that  were  "more  exercised  in 
fiddling  and  flinging  than  in  reading  or  hearing  of 
God's  most  blessed  Word."  Mary  had  evidently 
heard  an  exaggerated  report  of  the  sermon,  and 
was  so  far  appeased  by  Knox's  assurance  that  he 
did  not  "utterly  damn"  dancing,  provided  "the 
principal  vocation  of  those  who  use  that  exer- 
cise" be  not  neglected,  and  the  occasion  of  the 
dance  be  not  unseasonable.2  But  when  she  re- 
quested that  if  he  heard  anything  about  her  that 
"  misliked  "  him,  he  would  come  to  herself  and  tell 
her ;  and  when  she  received  the  rather  ungracious 
answer,  that  neither  his  "conscience  nor  the  voca- 
tion whereto  God  hath  called"  him,  permitted 
him  to  "wait  upon  your  chamber  door  or  else- 
where, and  then  to  have  no  further  liberty  but 
to  whisper  my  mind  in  your  Grace's  ear,"  Mary 
"turned  her  back  upon  him,"  offended.  Knox 
overheard,  as  he  left  the  room,  some  remark  of 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  286. 

2  News  had  recently  arrived  cf  fresh  persecution  in  France. 
Ibid.,  ii.,  330. 


1563] 


Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      277 


surprise  that  he  was  "  not  eftrayed" ;  and  replied, 
with  mingled  gallantry  and  scornful  unconcern, 
"  Why  should  the  pleasing  face  of  a  gentlewoman 
eflray  me?  I  have  looked  on  the  faces  of  many 
angry  men,  and  yet  have  not  been  eflrayed  above 
measure."  l 

The  next  interview  took  place  four  months 
afterwards,  in  April,  1563,  in  that  Castle  of  Loch- 
leven  where,  a  few  years  later,  Mary  was  to  have 
so  bitter  an  experience.  At  the  preceding  Easter, 
mass  had  been  publicly  celebrated,  contrary  to 
law,  in  various  places.  When  the  Government 
took  no  steps  to  vindicate  the  statute,  some 
priests  in  the  south-west  country  had  been  appre- 
hended by  ardent  Protestants,  who  declared  that 
they  would  "complain  neither  to  Queen  nor  to 
Council,"  but  would  punish  the  "idolaters  by  such 
means  as  they  might."  Mary  probably  suspected 
that  Knox  was  the  source  of  this  Protestant  ebul- 
lition; but  she  prudently  sent  for  the  Reformer 
and  asked  him  to  assist  in  its  suppression.  "She 
travailed  with  him  earnestly  two  hours  before  sup- 
per," he  writes,  urging  him  "to  persuade  the 
gentlemen  of  the  west"  to  leave  the  priests  alone 
and  not  to  take  ' '  her  sword  in  their  hand . ' '  Knox 
was  ready  with  Old  Testament  precedents,  from 
Phineas  downwards,  for  private  persons  in  special 
emergencies  undertaking  magisterial  duty ;  and  he 
plainly  told  her  Majesty  that  the  remedy  lay  with 

1  Knox,  H.  ofR.,ii.,  SS^SS- 


278  John  Knox  [1561- 

herself,  viz.,  to  "punish  mass-mongers  according 
to  the  law."  The  Queen  received  his  advice  in  no 
good  temper;  but  after  a  night's  reflection,  and 
some  converse  probably  with  her  brother  (who  by 
this  time  had  been  created  Earl  of  Moray),  she 
looked  at  matters,  or  professed  to  look  at  them, 
in  a  different  light.  She  sent  for  Knox  early  in 
the  morning,  when  she  was  out  hawking.  After 
"  long  talk  "  on  various  topics,  including  the  offer 
of  a  ring  to  herself  by  Lord  Ruthven,  "whom  I 
cannot  love,"  and  an  appeal  to  Knox  for  help  in 
reconciling  the  Earl  and  Countess  of  Argyle,  "  for 
my  sake,"  she  reverted  to  the  subject  of  the  pre- 
vious evening,  and  dismissed  the  Reformer  with 
a  promise  that  she  would  cause  all  offenders  to 
be  summoned  for  trial.  He  was  courteous  enough 
to  assure  her  that  by  so  doing  she  would  "please 
God,  and  enjoy  rest  and  tranquillity."  The  Queen 
kept  her  promise.  Within  about  a  month  forty- 
eight  "  mass-mongers  "  were  tried  for  breach  of  the 
law,  and  the  majority  of  these  (including  Arch- 
bishop Hamilton)  were  "committed  to  ward." 
But  Knox  became  convinced  afterwards  that  this 
loyal  compliance  with  the  law  was  "done  of  a 
most  deep  craft"  to  allay  the  suspicion  of  Pro- 
testants, and  to  dissuade  them  from  trying  to 
"press  the  Queen  with  any  other  thing  concern- 
ing matters  of  religion  at  the  Parliament  which 
began  within  two  days  thereafter."  I 

1  Knox,  H.  ofR.,  ii.,  371-380.     Knox  candidly  records  that 
at  the  Lochleven  interview  the  Queen  warned  him  against 


i563]      Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      279 

The  fourth  interview  between  Queen  and 
preacher  was  the  least  agreeable  of  all.  It  took 
place  in  the  early  summer  of  1563,  during  the  sit- 
ting of  Parliament.  Knox  had  referred  in  a  ser- 
mon to  a  rumour  of  the  Queen's  marriage  to  Don 
Carlos  of  Spain.  The  proposal  was  seriously  en- 
tertained by  Mary  herself,  and  was  believed  at  the 
time  to  be  favoured  even  by  some  of  her  Protest- 
ant counsellors.  The  possibility  of  such  a  mar- 
riage between  the  Queen  of  Scots  and  the  son 
of  the  arch-persecutor,  Philip  II.,  was  too  much 
for  the  Reformer,  whose  English  experience  had 
taught  him  to  dread  the  issue  of  a  matrimonial 
alliance  with  Spain.  He  declared  from  the  pulpit 
that  "whensoever  the  nobility  of  Scotland  con- 
sent that  an  '  infidel '  shall  be  head  to  your  sover- 
eign," they  will  "bring  God's  vengeance  upon  the 
country."  Had  the  Queen  been  aware  at  the 
time  of  the  character  of  Don  Carlos,  who  appears 
to  have  been  half  imbecile  and  half  monster, 
she  might  perhaps  have  excused  Knox's  interven- 
tion, even  although  she  disliked  his  reasons.  But 
to  one  who,  amid  other  more  personal  aims,  had 
never  lost  sight  of  her  mission  as  a  prop  of  the 
Papacy,  the  prospect   afforded  by  the   Spanish 


Gordon,  ex-Bishop  of  Galloway  (who  wished  to  be  made  a 
superintendent)  as  a  "dangerous  man."  "Therein,"  writes 
Knox,  "was  not  the  Queen  deceived"  ;  and  whether  he  was 
influenced  by  Mary's  counsel  or  not,  at  any  rate  Gordon, 
although  "the  man  most  familiar  with "  Knox,  was  "frus- 
trated of  his  purpose." 


280  John  Knox  [iS6i- 

alliance  was  attractive :  and  apart  from  this  con- 
sideration, Knox's  interference  with  her  matri- 
monial affairs  appeared  to  her  as  the  consummation 
of  meddlesomeness.  The  preacher  was  summoned 
to  Holyrood,  and  was  conducted  into  the  royal 
presence  by  Erskine  of  Dun.  The  Queen,  "  in  a  ve- 
hement fume,"  amid  threats  of  vengeance  mingled 
with  womanly  weeping,  demanded  indignantly, 
"What  have  ye  to  do  with  my  marriage,  and 
who  are  ye  within  this  commonwealth?"  Knox 
replied,  with  dignity,  that  "  albeit  neither  earl, 
lord,  nor  baron,"  yet  had  God  made  him  "a 
profitable  member  within  the  same,"  to  whom 
"  it  appertains  to  forewarn  of  such  things  as  may 
hurt  it";  and  for  the  nobility  to  consent  that 
their  Queen  should  be  "  subject  to  an  unfaithful 
husband  "  was  "to  do  as  much  as  in  them  liethto 
renounce  Christ,  to  banish  the  truth  from  them, 
to  betray  the  freedom  of  this  realm,  and  perchance 
in  the  end  do  small  comfort  to  "  the  Queen  herself. 
Mary's  answer,  according  to  Knox,  was  "inor- 
dinate passion"  and  "tears  in  abundance."  Her 
emotion  was  apparently  sincere,  and  Knox  was 
touched.  He  declared  that  he  had  "never  de- 
lighted in  the  weeping  of  any  of  God's  creatures." 
"I  can  scarcely  well  abide  the  tears  of  my  own 
boys,"  he  continued,  "whom  my  own  hand  cor- 
recteth,  much  less  can  I  rejoice  in  your  Majesty's 
weeping."  But  "I  must  sustain,  albeit  unwill- 
ingly," he  added,  "your  Majesty's  tears  rather 


iS63]     Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      281 

than  I  dare  hurt  my  conscience,  or  betray  my 
Commonwealth  through  my  silence."  The  Queen 
was  not  appeased.  The  Reformer  was  asked  to 
withdraw  to  the  antechamber,  where  he  enter- 
tained the  "fair  ladies  of  the  Court"  with  dis- 
course upon  the  transitory  character  of  all  earthly 
things,  and  upon  "that  knave  death,  that  will 
come  whether  we  will  or  not."  After  the  expiry 
of  an  hour,  Erskine  of  Dun  came  from  the  Queen 
to  bid  him  depart  to  his  house  until  new 
' '  advertisement . "  * 

V.  The  last  occasion,  so  far  as  is  certainly 
known,  on  which  Queen  and  Reformer  met,  was 
of  a  semi-public  character.  The  meeting  took 
place  in  December,  1563,  when  Knox  was  put  on 
his  trial  for  treason  before  the  Privy  Council.  Two 
months  previously  he  had  been  practically  forced 
to  take  a  bold  step,  which  to  timid  Protestants 
appeared  dangerous,  but  was  dictated  not  by  rash 
impulse,  but  by  deliberate  policy.  During  the 
Queen's  absence  from  Edinburgh,  in  the  summer 
of  1 563,  the  existing  arrangement  that  mass  should 
be  said  in  Holyrood  only  in  her  presence  was 
notoriously  disregarded.  Two  zealous  Reformers 
— Patrick  Cranstoun  and  Andrew  Armstrong — 
openly  protested  at  one  of  the  celebrations  against 
the  breach  of  the  law,  and  on  the  24th  of  October 
were  cited  to  trial  on  the  charge  of  violent  inva- 
sion  of  the  Queen's  palace.     If  these  two  men 


*  Knox,  H.  of  R.,ii.,  386-389. 


282  John  Knox  [1561- 

were  to  be  punished,  the  law  restricting  the  cele- 
bration of  mass  would  evidently  become  a  dead 
letter.  Knox,  accordingly,  wrote  and  circulated 
an  epistle  to  the  brethren,  asking  their  "presence, 
comfort,  and  assistance"  at  Edinburgh  on  the  day 
of  trial,  not  only  for  the  protection  of  the  ac- 
cused, but  lest  "a  door  be  opened  to  execute 
cruelty  on  a  greater  multitude."  T  The  case  was 
postponed  until  the  13th  of  November,  and  no 
record  of  subsequent  proceedings  appears  to  have 
been  preserved.  A  copy  of  Knox's  letter,  how- 
ever, came  under  the  royal  eyes;  and  amid  the 
eagerness  of  the  Queen  to  strike  the  arch-enemy 
of  the  mass,  the  trial  of  the  original  protesters 
was,  possibly,  departed  from.  Moray  and  Mait- 
land,  anxious  to  avoid  a  rupture  with  the  Queen, 
sent  for  Knox,  and  endeavoured  to  persuade  him 
to  humble  himself  before  her  for  his  alleged  offence 
of  "convoking  the  Queen's  lieges"  without  her 
authority.  But  Knox,  firm  in  the  conviction  that 
he  had  only  done  his  duty,  and  fortified  by  the 
private  assurance  of  the  Queen's  Advocate  (John 
Spens  of  Condie)  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  no 
misdemeanour,  replied  to  the  two  statesmen  that 
he  had  a  just  defence  for  all  he  had  done.  The 
trial,  accordingly,  proceeded.  As  Mary  entered  the 
Council  chamber,  Knox  observed  her  laughing, 
and  overheard  her  say  to  some  of  her  "placebos" 
(as  he  calls  them),  "Yon  man  gart  me  greet,  and 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  393~395- 


i563]      Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      283 

grat  never  tear  himself;  I  will  see  gif  I  can  gar 
him  greet."  She  was  doomed  to  disappointment. 
"  I  am  in  the  place  where  I  am  demanded  of  con- 
science to  speak  the  truth,"  Knox  declared,  in  the 
course  of  the  proceedings,  "  and  therefore  the 
truth  I  speak,  impugn  it  whoso  list."  He  was 
able  to  plead  numerous  precedents  for  "con- 
vocation of  the  lieges"  during  the  Reformation 
struggle:  and,  indeed,  every  Sunday  he  con- 
voked them  to  his  preaching.  The  real  and  only 
question  was  whether  the  purpose  of  convocation 
were  lawful.  The  Queen  endeavoured  to  shew 
the  treasonable  character  of  Knox's  action  by 
quoting  the  warning  in  his  letter  about  a  door 
being  opened  to  execute  cruelty,  and  by  suggest- 
ing that  the  Reformer  had  ascribed  such  cruelty 
to  herself.  But  the  accused  had  no  difficulty  in 
showing  that  the  warning  was  intended  to  refer 
not  to  the  Queen,  but  to  those  "pestilent  papists " 
who  desired  the  extermination  of  "all  such  as 
profess  the  Evangel  of  Jesus  Christ,"  and  who  had 
inflamed  without  cause  her  Majesty  "against 
those  poor  men."  The  trial  ended  in  the  discom- 
fiture of  the  Queen.  Knox  was  acquitted  by  al- 
most all  the  members  of  the  Council,  including 
even  a  personal  enemy,  Henry  Sinclair,  Catholic 
Bishop  of  Ross,  and  President  of  the  Court  of 
Session.  On  being  sarcastically  upbraided  by  the 
Queen,  Sinclair  replied  that  "neither  affection  to 
the  man  nor  love  to  his  profession  moved ' '  him 


284  John  Knox  [1561- 

"to  absolve  him,  but  the  simple  truth  which  ap- 
peared in  his  defence."  Had  the  Council  con- 
demned Knox  on  this  occasion,  the  majority 
would  have  condemned  themselves.1 

The  antagonism  of  the  Queen  to  Knox  was  in- 
tensified by  his  marriage,  in  March,  1564,  to 
Margaret  Stewart,  daughter  of  Lord  Ochiltree,  a 
maiden  of  seventeen.  The  young  bride  seems  to 
have  been  warmly  attached  to  her  husband,  who 
was  thrice  as  old  as  herself 2 :  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  believe  that  the  union,  although  out  of  accord 
with  general  sentiment,  was  other  than  a  happy 
one.  Mary's  indignation  was  excited,  not  by  the 
disparity  of  age,  but  by  what  she  regarded  as  the 
Reformer's  presumption  in  allying  himself,  even 
remotely,  with  the  royal  family.  "The  Queen" 
— so  the  English  ambassador  reported — "storm- 
eth  wonderfully;  for  that  she  [Margaret  Stewart] 
is  of  the  blood  and  name."  3 

VI.  In  reviewing  the  earlier  relations  of  Knox 
with  Mary,  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  constant 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  398-412;  Calderw.,  H.  of  the  K., 
ii.,  233.  The  later  relations  between  the  Queen  and  Knox 
will  be  referred  to  in  Chapter  XII. 

2  "By  sorcery  and  witchcraft,"  writes  Nicol  Burne,  a 
Catholic  detractor  of  Knox,  "he  did  so  allure  that  poor 
gentlewoman  that  she  could  not  live  without  him"  (T.  Graves 
Law,  Cath.  Tractates,  p.  162).  We  hear  little  of  Margaret 
Stewart's  wedded  life  with  Knox  except  her  ministration  to 
him  on  his  death-bed.  Three  daughters  were  born  of  the 
marriage. 

3  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  533. 


I563]     Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      285 

danger  which  overhung  the  Reformation  during 
the  period  of  her  personal  reign  in  Scotland.  That 
peril,  always  existing,  became  manifest,  as  we 
shall  find,  at  the  time  of  the  Queen's  marriage 
with  Darnley,  when  the  power  of  the  Protestant 
leaders,  both  lay  and  clerical,  was  for  a  time 
paralysed:  and  this  temporary  paralysis,  which, 
but  for  Mary's  own  folly,  might  have  been  perma- 
nent, justified  Knox  in  his  attitude  of  persistent 
and  unbending  opposition  to  the  Queen.  This 
opposition  could  not  but  manifest  itself  in 
unpalatable  testimony.  The  issues  at  stake  re- 
quired a  plain-spoken  prophet,  not  a  smooth- 
tongued courtier.  It  may  be  admitted,  however, 
that  the  Reformer,  even  on  his  own  shewing, 
while  rendering  due  respect  to  his  Sovereign  in 
personal  intercourse,  sometimes  failed  in  con- 
sideration for  her  difficult  position,  as  well  as 
conscientious  convictions,  and  was  needlessly  as 
well  as  unwisely  repellent  and  unsympathetic. 
Did  he  thus  miss  the  chance  of  removing  the 
young  Queen's  prejudice,  and  even  of  influencing 
her  character  and  policy?  That  long  interview 
at  Lochleven,  when  he  was  "oft  willing  to  tack 
his  leave,"  but  when  she  detained  him  with 
confidential  converse  about  a  domestic  trouble 
in  which  she  asked  his  aid,  and  even  about  a 
love-affair  connected  with  herself,  suggests  that 
although  Mary  regarded  Knox  as  her  chief  antago- 
nist, she  was  not  insensible  to  that  underlying 


286  John  Knox  [I56i- 

sympathy  which,  in  spite  of  superficial  hardness, 
attracted  to  the  Reformer  the  confiding  regard 
both  of  men  and  of  women.  What,  then,  pre- 
vented Knox,  in  his  earlier  intercourse  with  the 
Queen,  from  seeking  to  win,  rather  than  merely 
to  withstand?  To  a  man  who  believed  in  the 
grace  of  God  and  in  his  own  power  as  God's  minis- 
ter, her  "indurate  heart"  could,  at  the  outset 
have  been  no  adequate  deterrent.  May  not  his 
demeanour  towards  Mary  be  accounted  for,  to 
some  extent,  by  the  supposition  that  in  the  earlier 
part,  at  least,  of  her  reign,  he  was  not  without 
some  fear  of  her  power  of  fascination,  and  that  he 
steeled  himself  against  it  by  adopting  an  aspect 
of  unsympathetic  harshness,  which  misrepre- 
sented his  true  nature?  We  know  from  the  Re- 
former's intercourse  and  correspondence  with  Mrs. 
Bowes  and  Mrs.  Locke,  that  he  was  far  from  being 
impervious  to  womanly  influence ;  and  his  court- 
ship of  Margaret  Stewart  shows,  what  he  himself 
once  indicated,  that  he  had  a  full  appreciation  of 
"  the  pleasing  face  of  a  gentlewoman."  The  occa- 
sional relaxation,  moreover,  of  his  attitude  to  the 
Queen,  even  at  interviews  when  he  was,  on  the 
whole,  stern,  points  to  a  kindlier,  gentler,  and 
more  real  self  behind  the  demeanour  of  rough 
severity  which,  for  his  own  protection,  he  felt 
himself  constrained  to  assume.  Eventually,  how- 
ever, Knox's  heart  became  wholly  hardened 
against  her:   and  towards  the  adulterous  accom- 


iS63]     Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      287 

plice,  as  he  believed,  of  her  husband's  murderer, 
his  feeling  was  that  of  deep  detestation. 

ADDITIONAL    NOTE    TO    CHAPTER    X 

John  Knox  and  Roman  Catholic  Controversialists 

1.  Knox's  encounter  with  Principal  Anderson  and 
(the  future)  Bishop  Lesley  has  been  already  related.1 

2 .  Ninian  Winzet  was  one  of  the  most  estimable  of 
the  clergy  who  adhered  at  the  Reformation  to  the 
Roman  Church.  He  was  Headmaster  of  Linlithgow 
School,  and  Provost  of  the  Collegiate  Church  of  the 
town.  His  significant  admission  as  to  the  ignorance 
and  vicious  lives  of  the  "maist  part"  of  the  clergy 
has  already  been  recorded  2  but  he  was  a  strenuous 
opponent  of  Protestantism.  He  appears  to  have 
held  a  public  discussion  at  Linlithgow  with  Knox 
regarding  the  mass,  during  a  visit  of  the  latter  to  the 
town  in  June,  1559.  After  the  Reformation  he  was 
ejected  for  nonconformity.  He  came  under  Queen 
Mary's  notice  soon  after  her  return  to  Scotland,  and 
was  probably  one  bf  her  domestic  chaplains  at 
Holyrood.  In  February,  1562,  he  received  permis- 
sion from  the  Queen  to  address  the  Protestant 
leaders.  He  did  so  in  a  series  of  controversial  Letters 
and  Tractates,  in  which,  among  other  subjects,  he 
raises  the  question  whether  John  Knox  were  a  lawful 
minister,  seeing  that  he  had  renounced  and  declared 
to  be  null  his  Roman  ordination.  Knox  published 
no  reply,  contenting  himself  with  pulpit  references,  in 


1  See  page  253. 

2  See  page  1 5, 


288  John  Knox  [I56i- 

which  he  declared  that,  like  John  the  Baptist,  he  had 
been  "extraordinarily  called."  Winzet's  attacks 
upon  Protestantism  culminated  in  his  "Last  Blast  of 
the  Trumpet  of  God's  Word  against  the  usurped 
authority  of  John  Knox  and  his  Calvinian  brethren," 
printed  in  July,  1562.  The  work  was  seized  by  the 
authorities  as  seditious,  and  Winzet  had  to  flee  to  the 
Continent,  where  he  renewed  the  controversy  with  his 
"Four  Score  Three  Questions."  Eventually  he  be- 
came Abbot  of  the  ancient  Scoto-Irish  monastery  at 
Ratisbon. l 

3.  On  the  occasion  of  a  visit  of  Knox  to  Ayrshire  in 
September,  1562,  a  disputation  was  arranged  between 
the  Reformer  and  Quintin  Kennedy,  Abbot  of  Cross- 
raguel  in  that  county,  and  a  son  of  the  Earl  of  Cas- 
silis.  The  Abbot  had  previously  signalised  himself 
as  a  champion  of  the  Roman  Church  by  the  issue, 
in  1558,  of  a  "Compendious  Tractive"  in  which 
Scripture  is  described  as  only  the  witness,  and  the 
Church  (represented  by  Council  or  Pope)  as  the  judge 
in  all  questions  regarding  the  Faith.  More  recently, 
in  1 56 1,  he  had  published  a  belated  reply  to  Knox's 
address  at  Newcastle  before  the  Council  of  the  North, 
in  1550.  The  disputation  was  held  in  the  house 
of  the  Provost  of  May  bole,  before  a  large  company 
of  Catholic  and  Protestant  nobles  and  gentlemen, 
and  it  lasted  three  days.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
first  subject  of  controversy  should  be  the  mass:  and 
the  discussion  began  well;  for  the  Abbot,  after  a 
preliminary  caveat  that  he  was  not  to  be  held  as 
acknowledging  that  what  General  Councils  had 
determined  was  really  disputable,  announced,  to  the 

1  Hewison,  Ninian  Winzet,  i.,  Introduction  and  pp.  35,  47. 


i563]     Interviews  with  Queen  Mary      289 

Reformer's  satisfaction,  that  he  would  maintain  and 
"defend  no  mass,  as  concerning  the  substance,  in- 
stitution, and  effect,  but  that  mass  only  which  was 
instituted  by  Christ."  He  defined  the  mass  to  be 
"the  sacrifice  and  oblation  of  the  Lord's  Body  and 
Blood";  and  promised  that  his  arguments  would  be 
grounded  "upon  the  Scripture  of  Almighty  God  as 
his  warrant."  But  when  he  insisted  on  discussing,  as 
his  first  scriptural  testimony,  the  bread  and  wine  of 
Melchizedek  as  a  type  of  the  oblation  made  by  Christ 
at  the  Last  Supper,  the  disputation  drifted  into  the 
subordinate  question  whether  Melchizedek's  bread 
and  wine  were  intended  to  be  a  sacrifice  offered  to 
God,  as  the  Abbot  contended,  or  a  refreshment  offered 
to  men,  as  Knox  maintained.  For  the  better  part  of 
two  days  this  minor  point  was  discussed.  In  vain, 
on  the  third  day,  according  to  his  own  account,  at 
least,  the  Reformer  endeavoured  to  bring  back  the 
disputation  to  the  main  question,  viz.,  whether  the 
mass,  as  celebrated  in  the  Roman  Church,  has  or 
has  not  "approbation  of  the  plain  Word  of  God." 
The  auditors,  apparently,  had  become  utterly 
wearied,  and  pleaded  that  they  were  "altogether 
destitute  of  all  provision  both  for  horse  and  man." 
The  Abbot  agreed  to  resume  the  discussion  in  Edin- 
burgh if  the  Queen  permitted;  but  no  resumption 
actually  took  place,  and  within  two  years  Kennedy 
died.1 

4.  Ten  years  after  his  encounter  with  Kennedy, 
Knox  wrote  a  reply  to  the  letter  of  a  Scottish  Jesuit, 
James  Tyrie.  The  circumstances  and  nature  of  this 
controversy  will  be  detailed  in  Chapter  XIII. 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,   151,  220. 
19 


CHAPTER  XI 

KNOX  AND  THE   PROTESTANT   STATESMEN   OF   SCOT- 
LAND  PRINCIPLE    VERSUS    EXPEDIENCY 

1561-1565 

AMID  general  agreement  between  Knox  and 
the  lay  leaders  of  the  Scottish  Reformation 
upon  the  vital  question  of  dethroning  Romanism 
and  establishing  Protestantism,  there  was  serious 
divergence  of  opinion  on  several  important  points 
affecting  the  success  of  the  Protestant  movement 
and  the  well-being  of  the  Reformed  Church. 

I.  So  early  as  1555,  after  Knox's  first  re- 
turn from  exile,  the  question  of  principle  against 
expediency,  of  thoroughness  against  compromise 
in  reformation,  had  been  involved  in  the  discus- 
sion which  then  arose  as  to  whether  Protestants 
ought,  or  ought  not,  to  continue  their  attendance 
at  mass.  The  divergence  reappeared  in  1559, 
after  the  Reformer's  final  return,  in  the  earlier 
support  given  to  the  prosecuted  preachers  by 
Knox,  along  with  the  Earl  of  Glencairn  and 
Erskine  of  Dun,  against  the  more  cautious  atti- 
tude adopted  by  Lord  James  Stewart,  the  Earl 

290 


[1561-1565]     Protestant  Statesmanship     291 

of  Argyle,  and  Maitland,  who  believed  that  the 
Reformation  of  the  Church  and  the  liberty  of 
preaching  might  be  obtained  by  peaceful  means, 
until  the  duplicity  of  the  Regent  united  the  Re- 
formers in  the  policy  of  resistance.  The  cleavage 
manifested  itself  again,  at  a  later  stage,  during 
the  interval  between  the  establishment  of  the 
Reformation  and  the  return  of  the  Queen,  in  re- 
gard to  the  question  of  the  Church's  patrimony. 

II.  On  the  return  of  Queen  Mary  from  France 
in  August,  1 56 1,  the  divergence  between  Knox 
and  the  statesmen,  who  were  led  by  Lord  James 
Stewart  and  Maitland,  once  more  came  to  the 
surface.  1.  Knox,  the  man  of  principle,  thor- 
oughly convinced  that  his  cause  was  that  of  God, 
and  must  ultimately  prevail,  would  have  adminis- 
tered consistently  the  law  which  made  the  mass 
penal.  In  his  view,  the  Queen's  "liberty  should 
be  their  thraldom  ere  it  was  long";  a  bold  and 
faithful  course  was  the  only  true  and  safe  policy. 
The  "principal  ministers"  supported  their  leader, 
but  "the  votes  of  the  Lords  did  prevail  against" 
them.1  The  leading  Protestant  laymen,  apart 
from  that  fascination  which  a  young  and  beautiful 
Queen  exerted  over  some  of  their  number  in  the 
earlier  years  of  her  reign,  had  less  faith  both  in 
their  cause  and  in  their  countrymen .  They  believed 
that  if  Mary  were  prevented  from  worshipping 
God  according  to  the  faith  and  rites  in  which  she 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  292. 


292  John  Knox  [1561- 

had  been  brought  up,  she  would  be  constrained  to 
ally  herself  with  the  reactionary  party  which  aimed 
at  the  restoration  of  Romanism;  and  this  party 
would  be  strengthened,  while  the  Protestant  cause 
would  be  weakened,  by  the  parade  which  would 
be  made  of  needless  hardship  imposed  on  the 
Queen.  Knox  acknowledged  no  real  power  save 
that  of  God,  and  believed  that  if  the  leaders  of  the 
Reformation  were  faithful  to  God's  truth  they 
would  ultimately  triumph.  The  Lords  of  the  Con- 
gregation, as  men  of  the  world,  recognised  that, 
rightly  or  wrongly,  Mary  was  a  power  in  the  land ; 
and  they  desired  by  timely  concessions  to  retain  her, 
so  far  and  so  long  as  was  possible,  on  their  own  side. 
2.  Statesmen  like  Moray  and  Maitland,  more- 
over, were  largely  influenced  by  the  political  pur- 
poses associated  with  their  ecclesiastical  aims. 
They  discerned  in  the  union  of  England  and 
Scotland  a  consummation  inevitable  as  well  as  de- 
sirable; and  they  were  anxious  that  the  union 
should  be  accomplished  in  circumstances  as  fa- 
vourable as  possible  to  their  native  land.  Mary 
Stuart  was  the  nearest  heir  to  the  English  throne. 
Her  ambition  to  be  Queen  of  both  kingdoms 
united  her  policy,  so  far,  with  theirs;  and  they 
trusted  to  her  gradually  realising  that,  in  order 
to  secure  her  succession  to  the  English  realm, 
it  was  indispensable  for  her  to  relinquish  the 
Roman  faith.  They  could  not  achieve  their  pur- 
pose  without    Mary's    co-operation;    they   were 


i565]        Protestant  Statesmanship         293 

ready,  accordingly,  meanwhile,  to  make  conces- 
sions as  to  her  personal  religious  profession,  in 
order  to  retain  her  alliance ;  and  they  hoped  that 
the  prospect  of  the  double  crown,  along  with  a 
Protestant  marriage,  would  render  those  conces- 
sions ultimately  unnecessary.  For  men  like  Knox, 
such  political  scheming  had  no  attraction.  He 
sympathised,  doubtless,  with  the  desire  for  union 
with  England  as  a  guarantee  for  the  continuance 
of  Scottish  Protestantism ;  but  to  surrender  truth 
and  to  countenance  ''idolatry  "  for  any  mere  politi- 
cal object,  or  even  for  a  religious  as  well  as  politi- 
cal benefit,  could  not  but  appear  to  so  thorough  a 
Reformer  as  "traffic  with  Satan"  and  doing  evil 
that  good  might  come. 

3.  Another  occasion  of  contention  between 
churchmen  and  statesmen  was  supplied  by  the 
powers  claimed  for  the  General  Assembly.  Those 
whose  policy  was  to  prevent  an  open  rupture  be- 
tween Queen  and  Church  foresaw  the  peril  to 
peace  which  the  Assembly  involved.  When  the 
time,  accordingly,  of  the  half-yearly  meeting  in 
December  arrived,  after  Mary's  return,  Maitland 
denied  the  power  of  churchmen  "to  assemble 
themselves,  and  to  keep  conventions"  without 
the  allowance  of  the  Queen."  "Take  from  us 
the  freedom  of  Assemblies,"  was  Knox's  memor- 
able answer,  "and  you  take  from  us  the  Evangel. 
Without  Assemblies,  how  shall  good  order  and 
unity  in  doctrine  be  kept  ? ' '    When  complaint  was 


294  John  Knox  [i56i- 

made  that  the  leading  laymen  were  not  taken  into 
confidence  by  the  clerical  members  of  Assembly, 
the  latter  retorted  that  the  Lords  no  longer,  as 
before,  "  kept  convention  "  with  the  ministers.1 

4.  The  Protestant  statesmen  differed  yet  fur- 
ther from  Knox  as  to  the  proper  way  of  speaking 
about  the  Queen.  Knox  did  not  scruple,  after  he 
had  abandoned  the  hope  of  Mary's  conversion,  to 
refer  to  Queen  Mary  as  "the  slave  of  Satan"  and 
to  the  divine  "vengeance"  as  hanging  over  the 
realm  by  reason  of  her  impiety.  From  a  man 
of  earnest  character,  who  sincerely  believed  that 
the  mass  was  idolatrous  and  offensive  to  God,  and 
who  discerned  that  the  example  of  the  Queen  was 
drawing  many  of  her  subjects  into  sinful  con- 
formity, what  else  could  be  expected?  He  con- 
tinued, indeed,  to  pray  for  his  Sovereign  at  public 
worship;  but  to  the  supplication,  "  Illuminate  her 
heart,"  the  suggestive  condition  was  added,  "Gif 
Thy  good  pleasure  be."  To  men  like  Maitland 
who,  although  Protestants  by  conviction,  were  not 
prepared  to  stigmatise  Romanism  as  impiety,  such 
language  appeared  to  be  a  "rousing  of  the  heart 
of  her  people  against  her  Majesty,  and  against 
them  that  serve  her."  2 

III.  The  crisis  of  divergence  was  reached  in  the 
early  summer  of  1563,  when  the  first  Parliament 
after  Queen  Mary's  return  was  held.3    Knox  hoped 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  294-297. 

2  Ibid.,  ii.,  427-431. 

3  Mary's  advisers  postponed  as  long  as  possible  the  meeting 


i565]         Protestant  Statesmanship         295 

that  advantage  would  be  taken  of  this  occasion  to 
put  the  Reformed  Church  on  a  firmer  constitutional 
basis,  and  to  legalise  the  Book  of  Discipline;  or 
at  least  to  secure  a  more  adequate  sustenance  for 
the  Protestant  clergy1  and  a  more  faithful  adminis- 
tration of  the  statutes  against  the  mass.  To  the 
Reformer's  disappointment  and  disgust,  the  Lords 
were  in  no  mood  to  "urge  the  Queen,"  in  case  she 
might  refuse  to  hold  a  Parliament  at  all.  With 
what  appeared  to  Knox  miserable  pusillanimity, 
they  counselled  the  postponement  of  any  de- 
mands from  Mary  in  the  ecclesiastical  sphere  until 
her  expected  marriage  approached.  It  would 
then — so  it  was  argued — be  easier  to  make  con- 
ditions with  her,  in  return  for  grants  and  privi- 
leges solicited  by  her:  and  the  "first  thing  that 
should  be  established"  would  be  the  "Reformed 
Religion."  2     Knox    showed    his   disappointment 


of    the    Estates,    to    avoid    the    inconvenient   discussion    of 
"affairs  in  Church  and  State." 

1  Early  in  1562,  the  Privy  Council  assigned  one-third  of  the 
ecclesiastical  patrimony  to  the  crown  and  to  the  ministers; 
the  remaining  two-thirds  being  left  in  the  possession  of  the 
Roman  clergy  until  the  death  of  the  existing  beneficiaries. 
The  share  allocated  to  the  Reformed  ministers  was  about 
24,000  pounds  Scots,  out  of  which  were  paid  stipends  of  100 
to  300  merks,  (£5,  us,  id  to  £16,  13s,  4<i);  the  purchasing 
power  of  money,  however,  being  probably  twelve  times  as 
great  as  at  present.  Poorer  ministers  complained  that 
"neither  were  they  able  to  live  on  the  stipends  appointed, 
neither  could  they  get  payment  of  that  small  thing  that  was 
appointed."      (Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  307-311.) 

2  Ibid.,  ii.,  382. 


296  John  Knox  [1561- 

and  indignation  in  a  sermon  preached  at  St. 
Giles'  during  the  session  of  Parliament.  He 
"poured  forth  the  sorrow  of  his  heart";  plainly 
declared  that  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation  were 
"betraying  God's  cause"  when  they  had  it  "in 
their  own  hands  to  establish  it";  and  could  see 
in  their  procedure  "nothing  but  a  reculling  [re- 
lapse] from  Christ  Jesus."  T 

IV.  At  the  ensuing  General  Assembly  (June, 
1564),  from  which  "the  lords  that  depended  on 
the  Court"  were  conspicuously  absent,  an  at- 
tempt was  made,  through  a  private  conference 
between  politicians  and  preachers,  to  arrive  at  a 
common  understanding.  Maitland  was  the  chief 
speaker  on  the  one  side,  Knox  on  the  other.  Two 
points  were  discussed.  The  first  was  the  general 
question  whether  a  subject  could  lawfully  resist 
his  sovereign.  Maitland  appealed  to  Romans  xiii., 
1  ("Whosoever  resisteth  the  power  resisteth  the 
ordinance  of  God") ;  and  demanded  to  know  how 
the  "person  placed  in  authority  may  be  re- 
sisted, and  God's  ordinance  not  transgressed." 
Knox  had  not  forgotten  his  scholastic  training 
under  Major.  He  drew  a  distinction  between  the 
divine  ordinance  of  government  and  the  individual 
human  administrator.  The  former  was  "con- 
stant, stable,  perpetual,"  and  therefore  unalter- 
ably binding.  But  particular  "  men,  clothed  with 
their  authority,"  are  "mutable,  transitory,  sub- 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  384,  385. 


i565]         Protestant  Statesmanship         297 

ject  to  corruption";  therefore  the  prince  who 
abuses  his  authority  "may  be  resisted,"  while 
"yet  the  ordinance  of  God  is  not  violated." 
Maitland  quoted  the  opinions  of  Luther  and 
Melanchthon,  but  was  informed  that  what  they 
opposed  was  the  doctrine  of  "Anabaptists  who 
deny  that  Christians  should  be  subject  to  magis- 
trates" at  all;  and  Knox  was  able  to  produce  a 
copy  of  the  famous  Apology  of  Magdeburg,  drawn 
up  in  1550  by  its  clergy  in  defence  of  the  citizens, 
when  these  opposed  the  Emperor,  Charles  V.  The 
Apology  declared  that  "to  resist  a  tyrant  is  not 
to  resist  God  nor  yet  his  ordinance."  Letnington 
glanced  over  the  document  and  the  list  of  sig- 
natures. "Homines  obscuri!"  was  his  scornful 
comment;  to  which  Knox  gave  the  memorable 
answer,  "  Dei  tamen  servi."  1 

The  second  question  discussed  at  the  confer- 
ence was  more  specific,  viz.,  whether  they  might 
"take  the  Queen's  mass  from  her."  On  this 
point  the  clergy  as  well  as  the  laity  were  divided. 
Douglas,  the  Rector  of  St.  Andrews  University, 
and  Wynram,  Superintendent  of  Fife,  followed  by 
a  majority  of  the  nobility,  maintained  that  if  the 
Queen  "opposed  herself  to  the  only  true  religion," 
they  might  "justly  oppose  themselves  to  her." 
"As  concerning  her  own  mass,"  however,  they 
were  ' '  not  yet  resolved  whether  by  violence  we 
may  take  it  from  her,  or  not . ' '     On  the  other  hand, 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  435,  436,  442,  453,  454. 


298  John  Knox  [1561- 

Knox  and  his  colleague,  Craig,  led  a  party  which 
reasoned  that  "as  the  mass  was  abomination,  so 
it  was  just  and  right  that  it  should  be  suppressed ; 
and  that  in  so  doing  men  did  no  more  wrong  to 
the  Queen's  Majesty  than  they  that  should  by 
force  take  from  her  a  poisoned  cup  when  she  was 
going  to  drink  it."  The  conference  broke  up 
without  any  formal  decision:  the  divergence  of 
view  had  not  been  lessened,  but  rather  empha- 
sised ;  and  Knox  declares  that  after  that  time  the 
ministers  that  were  called  "precise"  were  "held 
of  all  the  courtiers  as  monsters."  I 

V.  Particularly  notable  and  detrimental  to 
the  Reformed  Church  was  the  estrangement 
between  Knox  and  Moray.  Referring  to  the 
period  immediately  preceding  the  Parliament  of 
May,  1563,  Knox  writes  that  "the  matter  fell 
so  hot  between  the  Earl  of  Moray  and  John  Knox, 
that  familiarly  after  that  time  they  spake  not 
together  more  than  a  year  and  a  half."  The  Re- 
former wrote  to  the  statesman  a  letter,  in  which 
"he  gave  a  discharge  to  the  said  Earl  of  all  fur- 
ther intromission  or  care  with  his  affairs."  He 
reminds  him,  not  without  pathos,  "in  what 
estate  he  was  when  first  they  spake  together 
in  London"  ten  years  before;  and  he  recalls 
"how  God  had  promoted  him  [Moray]  and  that 
above  men's  judgment,"  so  that  now  "  I  leave 
you  victor  of  your  enemies,"  advanced  "to  great 

1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  454-461. 


i565]         Protestant  Statesmanship         299 

honours,"  and  "in  credit  and  authority  with  your 
Sovereign."  He  had  hoped  that  Moray  would 
"  ever  have  preferred  God  "  to  "  his  own  affection," 
and  the  "  advancement  of  God's  truth  "  to  his  own 
"commodity."  But  he,  Knox,  had  been  "frus- 
trate in  this  my  expectation."  "  If  after  this" — 
so  the  letter  concludes — "  ye  shall  decay,  as  I  fear 
that  ye  shall,  then  call  to  mind  by  what  means 
God  exalted  you;  which  was  neither  by  bearing 
with  impiety  neither  yet  by  maintaining  of  pest- 
ilent Papists."1  Knox  admits  that  his  altered 
relations  with  Moray  were  an  occasion  of  "tri- 
umph" to  those  who  "envied  that  so  great  fam- 
iliarity was  between  the  said  Earl"  and  himself; 
and  he  charges  them  with  ceasing  not  "to  cast 
oil  on  the  burning  flame."  A  quarrel  between 
the  chief  Protestant  noble  and  the  leading  Re- 
formed minister  must  obviously  have  weakened 
the  cause  to  which  both  were  attached.  It  helped 
to  pave  the  way  for  a  temporary  Roman  reaction. 
VI.  The  estrangement  between  Moray  and  Knox 
arose  from  difference  of  standpoint  and  aim.  1. 
Both  were  patriotic  politicians  and  sincere  Re- 
formers ;  but  the  one  was  a  keen  statesman  who 
attached  himself  to  the  Protestant  cause;  the 
other  was  an  ardent  Reformer,  constrained  by 
his  religious  zeal  to  ally  himself  with  a  political 
party.  Moray's  chief  aim  in  the  interval  between 
1 56 1  and  1565  was  to  strengthen  Mary  Stuart's 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  382,  383. 


300  John  Knox  [1561- 

government  and  her  chance  of  peaceful  succession 
to  the  English  throne .  With  this  view  he  promoted 
a  policy  which  would  satisfy  the  more  moderate 
Protestants  both  of  England  and  of  Scotland, 
without  either  driving  Scottish  Romanists  into 
rebellion,  or  cooling  the  zeal  of  English  Roman- 
ists into  political  apathy.  So  long,  therefore,  as 
the  Protestant  ascendency  in  Scotland  did  not 
appear  to  be  imperilled,  he  wished  to  be  as  tol- 
erant towards  Catholics  as  was  practicable.  He 
seems,  moreover,  to  have  hoped  that  Mary  would 
be  eventually  persuaded  to  conciliate  Elizabeth 
by  a  Protestant  matrimonial  alliance,  and  even 
to  co-operate  actively  in  completing  the  work  of 
organising  the  Reformed  Church,  if  not  to  become 
a  Protestant  herself.1  Knox,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  a  Reformer  first  and  principally ;  a  politician 
only  in  so  far  as  the  politics  of  the  time  had  im- 
portant bearings  on  religion.  His  aim  was  to 
make  not  only  the  government  but  the  people 
thoroughly  Protestant :  and  so  long  as  a  Catholic 

1  Maitland,  with  whom  at  this  period  Moray  was  in  accord, 
wrote  on  25th  October,  1 561,  to  Sir  William  Cecil  about  Mary: 
"I  see  in  her  [Mary]  a  good  towardness,  and  think  that  the 
Queen  your  Sovereign  shall  be  able  to  do  much  with  her  in 
religion,  if  they  ever  enter  on  a  good  familiarity  (Laing,  W. 
of  K.,  vi.,  137).  Randolph  writes  to  Cecil  (January,  1562) 
that  it  was  reported  that  even  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine  was 
content  that  the  Queen  (of  Scotland)  should  "embrace  the 
religion  of  England"  (ibid.,  vi.,  138);  and  Randolph  per- 
sonally was  not  without  hope  that  Mary  "may  in  time  be 
called  to  the  knowledge  of  His  truth,  or  at  least  not  have 
that  force  to  suppress  His  evangcll  here"  (vi.,  147)- 


Pulpit  from  which  Knox  is  believed  to  have  preached 

in  St.  Giles's.    (Now  in  the  National  Museum 

of  Antiquities,  Edinburgh.) 


i565]         Protestant  Statesmanship         301 

leaven  was  tolerated,  he  feared  the  increase  of  its 
influence,  and  trembled  for  the  spiritual  safety 
of  the  nation  as  a  whole.  He  preferred  internal 
conflict  with  all  its  hazards,  while  a  Protestant 
ascendency  was  maintained,  to  internal  peace 
which  would  give  Romanists  the  opportunity  of 
recovering  their  strength,  increasing  their  num- 
bers, and  preparing  for  a  future  struggle.  2.  On 
the  subject  of  the  Queen's  marriage  the  views  of 
Moray  and  Knox  were  less  divergent  than  the 
latter  probably  supposed.  It  is  very  unlikely 
that  either  Moray  or  Maitland  ever  approved,  any 
more  than  Knox  himself,  of  Mary's  contemplated 
marriage  to  Don  Carlos  of  Spain.1  They  were  not 
unwilling,  however,  for  strategic  reasons,  to  give 
some  diplomatic  consideration  to  the  proposal.  It 
was  expedient  to  bring  home  to  Elizabeth  that 
unless  a  marriage  approved  both  by  England  and 
Scotland  were  speedily  contracted  by  the  Scottish 
Queen,  a  matrimonial  alliance  hostile  to  English 
interests  might  be  arranged  by  Mary  and  her 
counsellors.2     Knox   either    did   not   understand 


1  Knox  states  that  Maitland  was  "not  a  little  offended 
that  any  bruit  should  have  risen  of  the  Queen's  marriage 
with  the  King  [Prince]  of  Spain." — H.  of  R.,  ii.,  390. 

2  In  a  letter  of  Kirkcaldy  to  Randolph,  of  date  April,  1654, 
Maitland  is  represented  as  stating  that  "all  that  was  spoken 
of  the  marriage  with  Spain  was  done  to  cause  England  grant 
to  our  desires"  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  540).  This  policy  of 
the  Scottish  statesmen  produced  some  effect ;  for,  in  March, 
1564,  Elizabeth  suggested  the  Protestant  Lord  Dudley  as  a 
suitable  husband  for  Mary  (Keith,  Affairs  of  Ch.  and  St.,  ii., 


302  John  Knox  [i56i- 

this  diplomacy;  or,  if  he  did,  condemned  a  du- 
plicity which  accustomed  the  people  to  the 
thought  of  their  Sovereign  marrying  a  Catholic. 
3.  Knox  appears  to  have  had  no  such  hope  as 
Moray  and  other  statesmen  seem  to  have  cherished, 
of  the  Queen's  permanent  acquiescence  in  the  as- 
cendency of  Protestantism  in  Scotland  as  well  as 
in  England.  Himself  regarding  religion  as  above 
politics,  he  gave  Mary  Stuart  the  credit  of  a 
resolution  never  really  to  sacrifice  the  Roman 
Church  even  to  her  own  political  aspirations.  To 
him,  accordingly,  all  humouring  of  the  Queen 
with  a  view  to  her  ultimate  surrender  of  the  hope 
of  re-establishing  Romanism  was  a  vain  policy 
which  would  issue  certainly  in  disappointment 
and,  possibly,  in  disaster.1 

The  breach  between  Knox  and  Moray  was 
closed  about  the  time  of  the  Queen's  marriage 
with  Darnley,  when  the  statesman  became  an 
exile  and  the  Reformer  the  leader  of  a  depressed 


224);  and  this  alliance  would  have  satisfied  both  Knox  and 
Moray;  but  Elizabeth  would  not  commit  herself  (in  the  event 
of  the  marriage)  to  the  nomination  of  Mary  as  her  successor ; 
and  this  was  indispensable  to  the  alliance  being  approved  by 
the  political  advisers  of  the  Scottish  Queen. 

1  Randolph  wrote  to  Cecil  on  the  16th  December,  1562, 
that  Knox  "is  so  full  of  mistrust  in  all  her  [Mary's]  doings, 
words,  and  sayings  as  though  he  were  either  of  God's  privy 
council,  ...  or  that  he  knew  the  secrets  of  her  heart  so 
well  that  neither  she  did  or  could  have  for  ever  one  good 
thought  of  God  or  of  His  true  religion." — Laing,  W.  of  K., 
vi.,  146. 


i565]         Protestant  Statesmanship         303 

Church.  Common  misfortune,  apparently,  was 
the  means  of  healing  discord.  The  "  burning  flame 
of  contention  ceased  not  to  burn  until  God,  by 
water  of  affliction,  began  to  slocken  it."  x  Knox, 
moreover,  on  the  one  side,  realised  that  if  Moray 
had  been  a  lukewarm  promoter  of  Protestantism, 
he  had  been  an  effective  protector  of  Protestant 
preachers:  Moray,  on  the  other  hand,  had  to 
acknowledge  that  if  Knox's  policy  of  "thorough" 
might  have  led  to  civil  war,  his  own  policy  of 
compromise  had  issued  in  grave  detriment  and 
peril  both  to  Church  and  State. 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  303. 


CHAPTER  XII 

KNOX    DURING    THE    PERIOD    OF    THE    TEMPORARY 
DEPRESSION    AND    EVENTUAL    RATIFICA- 
TION   OF    PROTESTANTISM 

1565-1568 

THE  brief  period  of  two  years  between  Mary 
Stuart's  marriage  to  Darnley  in  July,  1565, 
and  her  abdication  at  Lochleven  in  July,  1567, 
constitutes  the  chief  crisis  not  only  of  the  Queen's 
life,  but  of  Scottish  Protestantism.  Mary  found 
and  lost  an  opportunity  of  inaugurating,  if  not  of 
accomplishing,  an  ecclesiastical  revolution.  The 
Reformed  Church  of  Scotland,  bereft  for  a  while 
of  its  political  protectors,  owed  its  safety,  under 
divine  Providence,  to  Knox's  influence  over  the 
people  and  to  the  Queen's  passion  and  folly. 

I.  In  1564,  at  the  suggestion  of  Elizabeth,  the 
Earl  of  Lennox,  who  had  been  banished  for  trea- 
son in  1545,  was  allowed  to  return  to  Scotland 
and  to  reclaim  his  forfeited  estates.  In  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  his  son  Darnley,  a  great-grandson, 
through  his  mother,  of  Henry  VII.,  and  next  to 
Mary  herself  in  the  line  of  the  English  succession, 

304 


[1565-1568]    Protestant  Depression  3°5 

was  also  encouraged  by  both  Queens  to  return  to 
his  native  land.1  From  the  outset  it  was  gener- 
ally believed  that  the  restoration  of  Lennox  was 
connected  with  a  proposed  marriage  between 
Mary  and  Darnley.  Moray  and  Maitland  were 
under  the  impression  that  Elizabeth  favoured  the 
union;  and  they  probably  reckoned  upon  Darn- 
ley,  who  was  a  Catholic,  but  not  particularly  zeal- 
ous, being  willing  to  change  his  faith  if  conversion 
were  eventually  to  be  rewarded  with  two  thrones. 
Darnley 's  first  night  in  Scotland,  the  10th  of 
February,  was  spent  at  Lethington,  as  Maitland' s 
guest.2  Within  a  fortnight  he  had  "heard  Knox 
preach,  supped  with  Moray,  and  danced  with  the 
Queen."  3  Within  a  month,  Mary  Stuart's  will- 
ingness to  consider  him  as  a  future  husband  on 
political  grounds  had  been  overshadowed  by  a 
personal  predilection,  which  speedily  developed 
into  passion.  Unexpectedly  Elizabeth  raised 
difficulties.  Until  she  herself  married,  or  had  re- 
solved not  to  marry,  the  succession  to  the  Eng- 
lish throne  must  remain  unsettled ;  she  objected, 
moreover,  to  the  marriage  with  Darnley  as  pre- 
judicial to  "Mary  and  herself"  and  "dangerous 
to  the  weal  of  both  countries."  4  The  attitude 
of  the  Queen  of  England  affected  the  policy  of 
Moray    and    Maitland.     The    marriage,    it    now 

1  A.  Lang,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  136;    Bain,  Cal.  ii.,  124-127. 

2  Skelton,  Life  of  Maitland,  ii.,  144. 

3  A.  Lang,  H.  of  Sc,  ii.,  137. 

4  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  474;    Froude,  H.  of  E.,  vii.,  269. 


306  John  Knox  [i565- 

appeared,  instead  of  promoting,  would  hinder  the 
recognition  of  Mary  as  Elizabeth's  successor,  and 
might  imperil  the  alliance  of  the  two  realms; 
while,  as  regards  Scotland,  the  motive  to  Darn- 
ley's  conversion  being  now  removed,  the  marriage 
would  be  a  cause  of  offence  to  the  Protestant  party. 
Moray,  accordingly,  exerted  his  influence  against 
the  nuptials:  in  addition  to  political  and  ecclesi- 
astical considerations,  he  had  probably  by  this 
time  discerned  Darnley's  overbearing  charac- 
ter and  his  unfitness  for  the  position  of  royal 
Consort.1  Maitland,  more  cautious,  endeavoured 
to  persuade  the  Queen  to  ''make  no  haste  in  the 
matter."  2  But  Mary  had  resolved  to  set  per- 
sonal before  political  considerations.  By  this 
time,  moreover,  the  influence  of  David  Rizzio, 
her  private  secretary,  superseded  that  of  former 
counsellors;  and  Rizzio  warmly  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  man  who  afterwards  became  his 
assassin.  A  convention  of  the  Scottish  nobility 
at  Stirling  on  the  15th  of  May  gave  its  approval 
to  the  proposed  marriage,  and  the  nuptials  were 
celebrated  in  Holyrood  Chapel  on  the  29th  of 
July,  1565.3  Moray,  along  with  other  nobles  and 
gentry,  including  Chatelherault,  Glencairn,  Ochil- 
tree, and  Kirkcaldy  of  Grange,  trusting  to  Eng- 
lish help  which  never  came,  raised  an  insurrection 


1  Tytler,  vi.,  378,  390. 

a  Ibid.,  vi.,  386  (letter  of  Randolph  to  Cecil,  30th  March). 

3  Ibid.,  v.,  393,  394. 


O     tit 

2   o 

°^ 

H      (U 

~£ 

o   3 

r-        Si 

u 

—    o 


iS68]  Protestant  Depression  307 

first  to  prevent  and  then  to  protest  against  the 
marriage,  but  their  enterprise  received  scant  sup- 
port: they  were  proclaimed  outlaws,  and  had  to 
flee  into  England.1 

II.  What  was  Knox's  attitude  towards  the 
royal  marriage?  We  have  seen  that  when  the 
alliance  with  Don  Carlos  was  in  contemplation, 
he  declared  in  St.  Giles'  that  to  allow  the  Queen 
to  wed  a  Romanist  was  equivalent  to  the  banish- 
ment of  Christ  from  the  kingdom.  The  objection 
was  equally  applicable  to  the  case  of  Darnley; 
and  the  opposition  of  Knox  and  Moray  (even 
although  from  different  standpoints)  to  a  mar- 
riage which  both  regarded  as  detrimental  to  the 
State  and  perilous  for  the  Church,  contributed, 
doubtless,  at  this  period  to  their  reconciliation. 

While  statesman  and  Reformer,  however,  were 
agreed  as  to  the  danger  which  the  marriage  in- 
volved, they  differed  widely  in  the  steps  which 
they  took  to  meet  the  emergency.  Moray  and 
his  friends  raised  a  petty  and  fruitless  insurrec- 
tion: there  is  no  evidence  that  it  received  any 
actual  support  from  Knox.  The  Reformer  used 
the  opportunity  to  testify  afresh  against  "papis- 
try, ' '  and  to  warn  Church  and  State  against 
unseasonable  toleration.  Although  his  name  is 
not  specially  mentioned  in  connexion  with  the 
General  Assembly  of   June,  1565,  we   may  with 


1  Continuation  of  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  496;   Burton,  H.  of 
Sc,  ii.,  123. 


308  John  Knox  [1565- 

confidence  ascribe  to  Knox's  suggestion  its 
main  procedure.  If  the  Queen  was  resolved  to 
marry  a  Romanist,  without  parliamentary  ap- 
proval, then  let  the  Church  renew  her  demand  for 
the  long-postponed  ratification  of  the  Protestant 
statutes  of  1560;  and,  in  accordance  therewith, 
let  the  "papistical  and  blasphemous  mass  be  sup- 
pressed throughout  the  realm,  and  that  not  only 
in  the  subjects,  but  in  the  Queen's  Majesty's  own 
person."  x  Probably  no  member  of  Assembly  ex- 
pected the  Queen  herself  to  renounce  the  mass; 
but  it  was  regarded  as  important  at  this  juncture 
to  remind  both  Court  and  nation  that  the  rite  was 
illegal;  and  to  the  Assembly's  testimony  may, 
perhaps,  be  attributed  the  withdrawal  of  Darnley 
from  the  chapel,  after  his  marriage,  when  mass 
was  about  to  be  celebrated.  Three  weeks  later, 
with  a  view,  presumably,  to  propitiate  Protestants, 
yet  without  renouncing  Romanism,  the  young 
King  attended  service  in  St.  Giles'.  Knox's  ser- 
mon did  not  tempt  him  to  return.  He  heard 
his  own  and  the  Queen's  co-religionists  repeatedly 
described  as  "pestilent  Papists."  A  parallel  also 
appeared  to  be  suggested  by  the  preacher  between 
Darnley  and  Ahab,  between  Mary  and  Jezebel: 
and  a  significant  reference  was  made  to  "boys  and 
women  being  sent  as  tyrants  and  scourges  to 
plague  the  people  for  their  sins."  2 

1  Calderw.,  H.  of  Kirk,  ii.,  287-289. 

2  The  sermon  was  published,  and  is  contained  in  Laing, 
W.  of  K.}  vi.,  233-273.     In  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which 


The  Pulpit  in  the  Greyfnars'  Church,  Stirling,  from   which  Knox 

preached  the  sermon  on  the  occasion  of  the  Coronation  of 

James  VI.,  in  1567.     (Now  in  a  side-room  of  the  church.) 


1 568]  Protestant  Depression  3°9 

If  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  Church 
might  have  been  more  tolerant,  and  Knox  more 
conciliatory,  it  is  fair  to  remember  that  Scotland 
was  then  passing  through  an  ecclesiastical  crisis, 
and  that  the  very  existence  of  the  Scottish  Re- 
formed Church  appeared  to  be  at  stake.  Con- 
tinental Catholic  powers  were  laying  aside  mutual 
jealousies,  and  were  prepared  to  unite  in  accom- 
plishing the  suppression  of  Protestantism.1  The 
numerous  and  powerful  Catholics  in  the  northern 
English  counties  were  believed  to  be  ready  for 
co-operation.2  Mary  had  succeeded  in  driving 
from  her  Court  and  Council  the  more  zealous  Pro- 
testant statesmen,   and  in  replacing  them  with 


he  had  preached,  Knox  was  summoned  from  his  bed  before 
the  Privy  Council,  at  royal  instigation.  Darnley  had  come 
home  "  crabbit  "  (Diurn.  ofOcc,  81).  The  Reformer  declared 
that  "he  had  spoken  nothing  but  according  to  his  text" 
(Knox,  H.  ofR.,  ii.,  497,  498;  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  230).  In  a 
marginal  gloss,  inserted  apparently  by  David  Buchanan, 
Knox  is  represented  as  adding  that  "as  the  King  (to  pleasure 
the  Queen)  had  gone  to  mass,  so  should  God  make  her  an 
instrument  of  his  ruin";  whereupon  "the  Queen  being  in- 
censed fell  out  in  tears."  But  Mary  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  present;  and  the  gloss  is  probably  an  alleged  vati- 
cinium  post  eventum.  The  Reformer  was  ordered  to  ab- 
stain from  preaching  so  long  as  their  Majesties  remained  in 
Edinburgh;  but  as  they  left  the  city  very  soon  after,  the 
prohibition  was  little  more  than  nominal  {Diurn.  of  Occ). 

1  The  Catholic  League  of  1565  was  not  consummated  until 
the  autumn  of  that  year,  but  arrangements  with  a  view  to  it 
had  already  been  made  (Burton,  H.  of  Sc,  iv.,  135,  136; 
Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  vii.,  18). 

2  Burton,  H.  of  Sc,  vii.,  131. 


io  John  Knox  [1565- 


men  not  unfavourable  to  the  restoration  of  Ro- 
manism. She  had  told  Knox  plainly,  long  before, 
that  she  meant  to  maintain  and  defend  the  Church 
of  Rome  : ;  and  her  private  correspondence  with 
continental  Courts  and  potentates  reveals  that 
she  had  been  encouraged  by  others,  and  herself 
hoped  to  inaugurate  a  Catholic  reaction.2  The 
marriage  with  Darnley  appeared  to  Knox  not  as 
a  mere  love  match,  but  as  part  of  an  extensive 
Romanist  conspiracy.3  Even  in  itself  the  mar- 
riage was  objectionable.  It  was  one  thing  for 
Scottish  Protestants  to  tolerate  a  Catholic  Queen 
who  was  the  legitimate  heir  to  the  throne ;  it  was 
another  thing  to  acknowledge  as  royal  Consort 
one  whose  presence  and  high  station  would  en- 
hance the  influence  of  the  Court  against  the 
Reformation.     . 

III.  Few  details  are  known  of  Knox's  life  and 
work  between  his  sermon  before  Darnley  in  Au- 
gust, 1565,  and  the  General  Assembly  which  met 
in  the  end  of  that  year.  But  one  outstanding  fact 
is  recorded.  Although  the  Reformer  had  no  share 
in  the  recent  insurrection,  he  appears  to  have 
chivalrously  stood  by  those  who  were  at  one  with 
him  in  condemning  the  Queen's  marriage  as  peril- 

1  See  above,  page  274. 

2  Labanoff,  Lettres  de  Marie  Stuart,  i.,  176,  177,  281,  343, 
345,  356. 

3  Before  Darnley 's  return,  Knox  wrote  to  Randolph,  the 
English  ambassador,  in  reference  to  the  proposed  restora- 
tion of  Lennox  and  his  son:  "To  be  plain  with  you,  that 
journey  and  progress  I  like  not." — Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  541. 


1 568]  Protestant  Depression  311 

ous  to  the  Reformed  Church.  In  his  services  at 
St.  Giles'  he  prayed  for  the  banished  lords,  and 
spoke  of  them  as  "  the  best  part  of  the  nobility."  I 
The  autumn  and  early  winter  of  1565  were  among 
the  most  "dolorous"  periods  of  Knox's  public 
life.  The  Queen,  emboldened  by  her  success 
against  the  nobility  and  gentry,  "  began  to  declare 
herself  in  the  months  of  November  and  December 
to  be  a  maintainer  of  Papists . ' '  Influential  nobles 
"went  to  mass  openly  in  her  Chapel."  Catho- 
lics "flocked  to  Edinburgh  for  making  Court." 
Friars  received  permission  to  preach  publicly  in 
the  capital.  "The  faithful  in  the  realm  were  in 
great  fear,  looking  for  nothing  but  great  trouble 
and  persecution  to  be  shortly."  2 

In  these  depressing  circumstances  the  General 
Assembly  was  convened  on  the  25th  of  December. 
One  chief  part  of  the  proceedings  was  to  arrange 
for  a  solemn  Fast,  on  two  successive  Sundays,  in 
order  to  escape  "the  plagues  and  scourges  of 
God."  Knox  and  his  colleague,  Craig,  were  ap- 
pointed to  "set  down  the  form  of  exercise  to  be 
used."  3     It  was  the  first  national  Fast  since  the 

1  Some  of  the  Privy  Council  would  have  had  Knox  brought 
to  trial  for  encouragement  of  rebellion;  but  Maitland,  who 
was  present  at  the  services,  testified  that  "nothing  was 
spoken  whereat  any  man  need  to  be  offended";  and  he  re- 
minded his  fellow  Councillors  that  Scripture  bids  us  "pray 
for  all  men."— Knox,  H.  of  R.  ii.,   514. 

2  Ibid.,  ii.,  515,  5r6. 

3  The  Fast  was  to  be  on  the  last  Sunday  of  February  and 
the  first  Sunday  of  March.      It  was  to  be  held  from  8  p.m.  on 


^ 


312  John  Knox  [1565- 

Reformation.  Its  appointment  was  grounded 
partly  on  the  peril  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
Scotland  as  the  outcome  of  national  "sin  and 
ingratitude,"  "declension  and  carnal  wisdom"; 
partly  on  the  dark  prospect  for  evangelical  truth 
throughout  Christendom.  At  home,  "that  idol 
of  the  mass  is  now  again  in  divers  places  erected." 
"  Some  whom  God  made  sometime  instruments  to 
suppress  that  impiety  have  been  the  chief  to 
conduct  that  idol  throughout  the  realm."  The 
Queen  had  signified  "in  plain  words  that  the  re- 
ligion in  which  she  had  been  nourished,  and  which 
is  mere  abomination,  she  shall  maintain  and  de- 
fend." Abroad  the  outlook  was  no  less  gloomy. 
"The  Council  of  Trent  had  concluded  that  all 
such  as  are  of  the  new  religion  shall  be  utterly 
exterminated  " ;  "  the  whisperings  whereof  are  not 
secret,  neither  yet  the  tokens  obscure."  l 

It  was  a  critical  time,  indeed,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  at  once  for  the  Scottish  Reformation  and 
for  Protestant  Christendom.  The  eyes  of  Europe 
were  turned,  with  hope  or  with  fear,  towards  the 
young  Queen  of  Scots  who  had  recently  released 
herself  from  bondage  to  Protestant  counsellors. 
If,  at  this  period,  Mary  Stuart  was  restrained 
from  taking  fully  and  effectively  the  part  in  fa- 
vour of  Rome  to  which  the  Catholic  League  and 

each  Saturday  until  5  p.m.  on  the  Sunday;  but  even  at  the 
latter  hour  food  was  to  be  limited  to  "bread  and  drink." 

1  Calderw.,  H.  of  K.,  ii.,  303-306.  The  order  of  the  Fast 
is  contained  in  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  381-430. 


iS68]  Protestant  Depression  313 

her  own  ambitious  zeal  alike  prompted  her;  if, 
at  this  crisis,  the  Scottish  Reformed  Church,  al- 
though depressed,  was  not  suppressed,  and  the 
Scottish  State  was  preserved  from  becoming  the 
tool  of  continental  Romanism  against  English 
Protestantism, — the  prevention  of  these  issues  was 
mainly  due  to  the  stirring  power  and  educative 
influence  of  Knox's  preaching  and  policy.  The 
Reformer  had  created  and  maintained  in  Scotland 
such  a  force  of  popular  antagonism  to  Rome  as 
the  Queen  dared  not  ignore,  much  less  provoke 
into  conflict.1  The  resolute  spirit  of  the  Church 
under  Knox's  leadership  in  this  time  of  trial  is 
illustrated  by  two  commissions  given  to  the  Re- 
former by  the  General  Assembly.  On  the  one 
hand,  a  discreditable  withholdment  of  ministerial 
stipends  by  the  Exchequer  having  been  reported, 
Knox  composed,  by  order  of  the  Assembly,  a 
pithy  pastoral  to  the  "Faithful  in  the  realm," 
exhorting  them  to  let  "the  bowels  of  their 
mercy  be  opened,"  and  not  to  let  the  "  Papists  re- 
joice over  us  that  our  niggardliness  banished 
Jesus  Christ  from  us."  2     On  the  other  hand,  not 

1  See  Moncrieff,  "Influence  of  Knox  and  the  Scottish 
Reformation  on  England,"  pp.  33-36  {Exeter  H.  Lectures, 
1859-60). 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  518;  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  431-436. 
Simultaneously,  an  address  on  the  subject  was  presented 
to  the  Queen;  and  the  grievance  was  remedied,  although 
tardily;  for  at  the  second  Assembly  after,  in  December, 
1566,  an  "assignation  of  money  and  victuals"  is  acknow- 
ledged as  an  instalment  of  what  "justly  pertaineth  to  the 
patrimony  of  the  Church." — Calderw.,  H.  of  K.,  ii.,  329. 


314  John  Knox  [i565- 

content  with  the  maintenance,  in  such  adverse 
circumstances,  of  Reformed  congregations  already 
existing,  the  Church  resolved  to  "lengthen  her 
cords  "  as  well  as  to  "  strengthen  her  stakes  " ;  and 
Knox  was  instructed  to  "visit,  preach,  and  plant 
[new]  Kirks  in  the  south,  where  there  was  not 
a  superintendent"  already  intrusted  with  this 
duty.1  His  work,  however,  there  was  erelong  in- 
terrupted by  an  event  which  occasioned  his  re- 
call to  Edinburgh,2  and  proved  to  be" the  beginning 
of  the  end  of  the  Catholic  reaction  in  Scotland. 

IV.  The  power  of  Rizzio  at  Court  was  ob- 
noxious to  almost  every  party  in  Scotland;  and 
men  of  different  views  were  for  a  time  united  in 
desiring  his  downfall.  Protestants  saw  in  him 
the  embodiment  of  the  influences  which  had  led 
Mary  to  depart  from  her  earlier  policy  of  acqui- 
escence in  the  Reformation  settlement,  and  to 
scheme  for  the  toleration  and  eventual  restoration 
of  Romanism.  Even  Catholic  nobles  and  gentry, 
who  sympathised  with  the  incipient  Roman  reac- 
tion, could  have  no  liking  for  a  low-born  foreign 
favourite  by  whom  they  saw  themselves  super- 
seded at  Court.  The  exiled  lords  and  their  friends 
at  home  attributed  to  Rizzio  the  threatened  for- 
feiture of  their  estates.     Darnley  himself,  whose 

1  Calderw.,  H.  of  K.,  ii.,  306. 

2  Knox  speaks  of  his  being  "called  back  from  exile" 
(Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.  481).  The  Assembly  which  sent  Knox 
to  the  south  perhaps  considered  that  his  life  was  in  danger 
at  the  time  in  Edinburgh. 


i568]  Protestant  Depression  315 

dissolute  habits  had  already  alienated  the  Queen's 
affection,  and  whose  political  incompetency  de- 
prived him  of  her  confidence,  resented  keenly  his 
displacement  as  her  adviser,  and  believed  him- 
self (probably  without  real  foundation)  supplanted 
even  as  a  husband.1  The  outcome  of  all  this  an- 
tipathy was  the  plot  into  which  Darnley  and 
Lennox  entered  with  Morton,  Ruthven,  Lyndsay, 
and  other  Protestant  lords  to  remove  out  of  the 
way  the  hated  Italian.2  The  terms  of  the  com- 
pact were  that  Darnley  was  to  receive  the  Crown 
Matrimonial;  that  Moray  and  other  exiles  were 
to  be  pardoned  and  restored;  and  that  the  Re- 
formed religion  was  to  be  maintained  and  con- 
firmed. It  was  proposed  at  first  that  Rizzio 
should  be  tried  and  sentenced  by  the  nobility; 
but  Darnley  objected  to  this  course  as  "cumber- 
some ' ' ;  and  the  victim  was  assassinated  at  Holy- 
rood  almost  in  the  presence  of  the  Queen,  on  the 
9th  of  March,  1566.3 

What  share,  if  any,  had  Knox  in  this  crime? 
Tytler  endeavours  to  prove  the  Reformer's  com- 
plicity on  the  ground  of  a  memorandum  of  uncer- 
tain date  but  ancient  authorship  attached  to  a 

1  Ruthven,  Relation  of  the  Death  of  Rizzio,  p.  30;  Hay 
Fleming,  Mary  Q.  of  S.,  pp.  125,  398. 

2  Catholic  lords  who  were  in  Holyrood  on  the  night  of  the 
assassination,  although  they  had  no  share  in  the  plot,  appear 
to  have  acquiesced  in  the  issue,  after  receiving  assurance  of 
Darnley's  complicity  (Keith,  Affairs  of  Ch.  and  St.,  iii.,  270). 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  521 ;  Calderw.,  H.  of  K.,  ii.,  31 1-3 14; 
Keith,  Affairs  of  Ch.  and  St.,  iii.,  202-208. 


3 16  John  Knox  [1565- 

genuine  and  contemporary  letter  from  the  am- 
bassador Randolph  to  Secretary  Cecil.1  The 
memorandum  enumerates  sixteen  persons  as 
consenting  to  Rizzio's  death,  and  among  the  six- 
teen are  both  Knox  and  Craig.  Even,  however,  if 
this  document  be  reliable,  it  may  involve  the  two 
preachers  in  no  more  than  what  the  Protestant 
conspirators  at  first  designed,  viz.,  not  Rizzio's 
assassination,  but  his  trial  and  execution  on  the 
charge  of  treason.  There  are  strong  reasons,  how- 
ever, for  discrediting  the  trustworthiness  of  this 
anonymous  memorandum.  The  document  to 
which  the  list  of  conspirators  is  attached,  and  a 
subsequent  letter  of  Randolph,  dated  27th  March, 
both  contain  lists  from  which  the  names  of  Knox 
and  Craig  are  absent.  In  an  extant  letter  from 
Morton  and  Ruthven,  the  writers  expressly  refer 
to  the  assertion  of  "some  Papists"  that  the  mur- 
der had  been  instigated  by  the  ministers,  and 
they  declare  upon  their  "honour  that  none  of 
them  were  art  and  part  in  this  deed."  Finally, 
at  a  meeting  of  the  Privy  Council,  held  by  the 
Queen  soon  after  the  assassination,  it  was  resolved 
to  summon  seventy-one  persons  to  answer  the 
charge  of  complicity;  yet  even  in  this  extended, 
list  of  suspected  accomplices,  Knox  and ,  Craig, 
notwithstanding  the  Queen's  desire  to  be  re- 
venged on  the  former,   do  not    appear.2     While 

1  Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  vii.,  427-438. 

2  McCrie,  Sketches  of  Scottish  Church  History,  App.,  Note  A; 
Hume  Brown,  Life  of  Knox,  ii.,  304-310. 


i568]  Protestant  Depression  317 

Knox,  however,  had,  in  all  probability,  nothing  to 
do  with  Rizzio's  actual  assassination,  he  certainly 
afterwards  gave  his  approval  to  the  "just  act" 
of  the  conspirators  "most  worthy  of  all  praise." 
He  regarded  the  killing  of  Rizzio  very  much  as, 
twenty  years  before,  he  had  regarded  the  murder 
of  Beaton.  Rizzio,  in  his  view,  was  a  "great 
abuser  of  the  Commonwealth,"  whom  the  Queen 
and  her  Government  not  only  tolerated  but  fa- 
voured. It  was  necessary,  for  the  sake  of  Church 
and  State,  to  put  an  end  to  his  power  of  mis- 
chief l ;  and  when  those  to  whom  God  had 
committed  the  administration  of  justice  failed  to 
perform  an  obvious  duty,  those  who  stood  next 
to  the  throne — the  nobles  of  the  realm — were  en- 
titled to  intervene,  to  see  that  justice  was  exe- 
cuted and  the  nation  delivered  from  peril.  Knox's 
religious  patriotism,  which  saw  in  Rizzio  a  "vile 
knave,  justly  punished,"  2  blinded  him  to  the  fact 

1  It  appears  to  have  been  intended,  at  the  Parliament 
summoned  for  March,  1566,  not  only  to  accomplish  the 
attainder  of  Moray  and  his  fellow-exiles,  but  to  restore 
the  Spiritual  Estate,  and  to  take  the  first  steps  "anent 
restoring  the  old  religion  "  (letter  of  Mary  Stuart  in  Laban- 
off,  i.,  343).  The  writer  of  the  Fifth  Book  of  Knox's  His- 
tory of  the  Reformation  (using,  probably,  materials  left  by 
Knox)  states  that  "if  the  Parliament  had  taken  effect,  it 
was  thought  by  all  men  of  the  best  judgment,  that  the  true 
Protestant  religion  should  have  been  wrecked  and  Popery 
erected."  He  adds  that  twelve  altars  were  found  in  Holy- 
rood  Chapel  ready  to  be  "erected  in  St.  Giles'  Church"  (H.- 
of  R.t  ii.,  524). 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  i.,  235. 


318  John  Knox  [1565- 

that  unless  intermeddlers  with  justice,  unauthor- 
ised by  men,  can  vindicate,  by  evidence,  a  claim 
to  divine  authority,  his  principles  must  issue  in 
perpetual  revolution  and  anarchy. 

The  decision  of  Knox,  however,  to  stand  by  the 
friends  who,  in  his  absence,  had  been  guilty  of 
assassination,  was  accompanied  by  painful  heart- 
searching  and  severe  depression.  A  pathetic 
prayer  has  come  down  to  us,  entitled  "  John  Knox 
with  deliberate  mind  to  his  God,"  composed  by 
the  Reformer  in  Edinburgh  three  days  after  the 
tragedy,  and  probably  on  the  night  of  his  arrival 
in  the  city.  He  who  never  quailed  before  men 
humbles  himself  in  the  dust  before  God,  on  ac- 
count of  "manifold  sins,  chiefly  those  whereof  the 
world  is  not  able  to  accuse  me."  "  In  youth  and 
age,  and  now  after  many  battles,  I  find  nothing  in 
me  but  vanity  and  corruption."  "  Pride  and  am- 
bition assail  me,  on  the  one  part;  covetousness 
and  malice  trouble  me  on  the  other."  While  he 
gives  thanks  to  God  for  ''using  my  tongue  to  set 
forth  Thy  glory,  against  idolatry,  errors,  and  false 
doctrine,"  he  "would  repose  in"  God's  "mercy 
alone,"  and  "in  the  obedience  and  death  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  But  the  burden  of  life  and 
work  in  a  troublous  time,  and  his  failure  to  find 
"justice  and  truth  amongst  the  sons  of  men" 
drive  him,  like  Elijah,  to  seek  "  an  end  to  this  my 
miserable  life."  "To  Thee,  therefore,  O  Lord," 
he  cries,  "I  commend  my  Spirit;   for  I  thirst  to 


1 568]  Protestant  Depression  319 

be  resolved  [released]  from  this  body  of  sin" ;  and 
then,  after  a  brief  intercession  for  "the  Kirk 
within  this  Realm"  and  for  his  "desolate"  wife 
and  "dear  children,"  he  closes  with  these  words 
"  tending  to  desperation,"  "  Now  Lord  put  an  end 
to  my  misery."  T 

V.  On  the  death  of  Rizzio,  Moray,  who  had 
not  been  directly  concerned  in  the  plot,  returned 
from  exile,  and  was  even  received  "pleasantly" 
by  the  Queen  2 ;  while  Knox,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  recalled  by  the  Church  to  Edinburgh  in  order 
to  give  his  counsel  as  to  the  "duty  of  the  faith- 
ful" in  a  troublous  time.3  The  baneful  influence 
of  Rizzio  having  been  removed,  and  the  King, 
being  now  pledged  to  support  the  Protestant 
cause,  it  was  hoped,  doubtless,  that  the  states- 
men favourable  to  the  Reformed  Church  would 
again  come  into  authority.  But  assassination  is 
a  dangerous  pathway  to  power:  and  the  Queen, 
for  the  time  at  least,  skilfully  circumvented  the 
conspirators.  Dissembling  her  wrath  against 
Darnley,  she  affected  to  believe  that  he  was 
merely  a  tool  in  the  hands  of  others ;  and  she 
persuaded  her  worthless  husband  virtually  to 
renounce  his  recent  compact,  and  actually  to 
co-operate  with  Huntly,  Bothwell,  and  others  in 
antagonism  to  his  former  allies.4 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  483,  484. 

2  Keith,  iii.,  274. 

3  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  481. 

4  Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  vii.,  4i~44. 


320  John  Knox  [1565- 

As  the  outcome  of  this  unique  transformation, 
Morton,  Ruthven,  and  other  leading  conspirators 
against  Rizzio  fled  across  the  Border;  Moray 
found  himself  tolerated  but  impotent;  Knox  re- 
tired to  Kyle  in  Ayrshire  to  resume  his  interrupted 
"visitation,"1  and  to  occupy  his  comparative 
leisure  with  the  completion  of  his  History.  His 
feelings  at  this  time  are  expressed  in  the  Preface 
to  the  Fourth  Book  of  that  work,  written  in  May, 
1566.  He  mourns  over  the  "  miserable  dispersion 
of  God's  people  within  this  realm"  when  "goodf 
men  are  banished,"  while  "such  as  are  known 
unworthy"  bear  the  whole  "regiment";  and  he 
attributes  the  unfortunate  issue  to  that  policy  of 
unworthy  compromise  (as  he  considered  it)  which 
the  Protestant  statesmen  had  adopted  after 
Mary's  return  to  Scotland.  "The  most  part  of 
us,"  he  writes,  "declined  from  the  purity  of  God's 
Word,  and  began  to  follow  the  world;  and  so 
again  to  shake  hands  with  the  Devil  and  idolatry. 
.  .  .  From  this  fountain  hath  all  our  misery 
proceeded."  2 


1  The  Diurnal  of  Occurrents  for  17th  of  March,  1566,  states 
that  on  "this  day  John  Knox  departed  from  the  said  burgh 
[Edinburgh]  with  a  great  mourning  of  the  godly." 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  265-267.  The  Reformer's  visit  to 
Ayrshire  at  this  time  was  signalised  by  at  least  one  gleam  of 
comfort  amid  many  grounds  of  depression.  The  Earl  of 
Cassilis,  through  the  persuasion  of  his  Protestant  wife,  and 
also,  perhaps,  in  part,  through  Knox's  influence,  renounced 
Romanism  and  became  an  earnest  propagator  of  the  Re- 
formed Faith  {ibid.,  ii.,  533).     He  afterwards,  however,  went 


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John  1  [1565- 


Eormatii 

Moray 
nox  re- 
ted 

Transliteration  of  Extract  from  MS.  of  Knox's 
Historie  in  the  Library  of  Edinburgh  University. 
The  marginal  note  is  in  Knox's  handwriting. 

[So  assemblit  at  Linlythqw,  the  said  Cardinall,  the  Erlis  Ergyle,]  Huntely, 
Bothwell,  the  Bischoppis  and  thare  bandis;  and  thairefter  thei  passed  to 
Striveling,  and  took  with  thame  bayth  the  Quenis,  the  Mother  and  the 
Dowghter,  and  threatned  the  depositioun  of  the  said  Governour,  as  in- 
obedient  to  thare  Haly  Mother  the  Kirk,  (so  terme  thei  that  harlott  of 
Babilon,  Rome.)  The  inconstant  man,  not  throwgtlie  grounded  upoun 
God,  left  in  his  awin  default  destitut  of  all  good  counsall,  and  having  the 
wicked  ever  blawing  in  his  earis,  "what  will  ye  do!  Ye  will  destroy 
yourself  and  your  house  for  ever:  "—The  unhappy  man,  (we  say)  beaten 
with  these  tentations,  randered  himself  to  the  appetites  of  the  wicked; 
for  he  qwyetlie  stall  away  from  the  Lordis  that  war  wyth  him  in  the  Palice 
of  Halyrudhouse,  past  to  Stirling,  subjected  himself  to 
The  Governour  ^  Cardinall  and  to  his  COUnsall,  receaved  absolutioun, 
violated  his  faith,  remmced  ^  professioun  of  Christ  Jesus  his  holy 
refused  God,  and  Eyangellj  and  violated  his  oath  that  befoir  he  had  maid, 
took    absolution  observatioun    of    the    contract    and    league    with 

of  the  Dewill. 

England.] 

il  of 

1  of 

rife,  and 

the  Re- 


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1 568]  Protestant  Depression  321 

VI.  During  the  summer  of  1566  Knox  appears 
to  have  remained  in  comparative  retirement  and 
security  among  the  Protestants  of  Ayrshire.1  He 
was  absent  from  the  General  Assembly  held  in 
June,  and  his  place  as  senior  minister  of  St.  Giles' 
was  temporarily  supplied.2  In  the  early  autumn, 
however,  he  emerged  from  obscurity.  By  that 
time,  in  spite  of  the  birth  of  their  son,  the  future 
James  VI.,  on  the  19th  of  June,  the  estrangement 
of  the  Queen  from  Darnley  had  become  complete, 
and  Bothwell's  malign  influence  over  Mary  had 
been  established.  Knox  could  hardly,  at  this 
stage,  have  retained  any  respect  for  Bothwell; 
but  the  Earl  professed  to  be  a  Protestant  and  had 
formerly  received  from  Knox  a  double  service.* 
The  Reformer,  accordingly,  may  have  trusted  that 
this  nobleman's  influence  at  Court  would  save  him 
(Knox)  from  royal  interference.  We  find  him  at 
St.  Andrews  in  the  beginning  of  September,4  and 

over  to  the  Queen's  party,  and  fought  for.  her  at  Langside 
(Keith,  ii.,  816). 

1  The  Queen  on  one  occasion  wrote  to  a  nobleman  with 
whom  Knox  was  residing,  requesting  the  banishment  of 
Knox  from  the  house;  but  apparently  without  result.  See 
Letter  of  Bishop  Parkhurst  to  Bullinger  in  Burnet,  Hist,  of 
Ref.  in  E.,  iii.,  473). 

2  Calderw.,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  321;  Keith,  iii.,  141,  142. 

3  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  324,  325,  328.  Knox,  in  1561,  had 
first  reconciled  Bothwell  with  the  Earl  of  Arran,  and  had 
afterwards  persuaded  Moray  and  others  that  Arran 's  subse- 
quent charge  of  treason  against  Bothwell  was  the  outcome  of 
"phrenzied  fancy." 

4  Laing,  W.  ofK.,  vi.,  548;  Edin.  T.  C,  Records,  25  Sept., 
1566  (quoted  by  Hume  Brown,  Life  of  J.  K.,  ii.,  231). 


322  John  Knox  [1565- 

in  Edinburgh  before  the  close  of  that  month. 
In  the  former  city  he  procured  a  gathering  of 
over  forty  ministers  and  professors,  to  consider 
a  request,  conveyed  through  him  from  Beza  of 
Geneva,  for  an  approval  of  the  Second  Helvetic 
Confession.  The  approval  was  cordially  given  to 
a  document  which  is  described  as  "resting  alto- 
gether upon  the  Holy  Scriptures  "  and  as  expound- 
ing "most  faithfully,  holily,  piously,  and  indeed 
divinely,"  "whatever  we  have  been  constantly 
teaching  these  eight  years."  A  characteristic 
caveat,  however,  is  appended,  "with  regard  to 
what  is  written  in  the  Confession  concerning  the 
festivals  of  our  Lord's  Nativity,  Circumcision, 
Passion,  Resurrection,  Ascension,  and  Sending  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  "  These  festivals,"  it  is  declared, 
"obtain  no  place  among  us:  for  we  dare  not  re- 
ligiously celebrate  any  other  feast  day  than  what 
the  divine  oracles  have  prescribed."  The  pro- 
cedure of  the  St.  Andrews  Convention  was  rati- 
fied by  the  subsequent  General  Assembly.1 

No  record  remains  of  Knox's  life  and  work  in 
Edinburgh  during  the  autumn  of  1566;  but  at 
the  General  Assembly  which  met,  as  usual,  on 
Christmas  Day  of  that  year,  the  Reformer  is  the 
leading  actor.  Under  his  guidance  the  Assem- 
bly protested  strongly,  in  a  "Supplication"  to 
the  Privy  Council,  against  a  serious  interference 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  544-548;  Calderw.,  H.  of  K.,  ii., 
33I-332- 


i56s]  Protestant  Depression  323 

by  the  Queen  with  the  Reformation  settlement, 
at  Bothwell's  instigation,  viz.,  the  reinstate- 
ment of  that  "conjured  enemy  to  Christ"  and 
" cruel  murderer  of  our  dear  brethren,"  the  ex- 
Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  in  his  ancient  disci- 
plinary jurisdiction.  The  issue  showed  that  this 
restoration  of  the  Primate  was  designed,  not  ex- 
pressly as  an  encroachment  on  the  Reformed 
Church,  but  as  a  means  of  enabling  the  archbishop 
first  to  declare  nullity  of  marriage,  owing  to  con- 
sanguinity, between  Bothwell  and  his  Countess, 
and  thereafter  to  pronounce  sentence  of  divorce. 
This  was  a  necessary  preliminary  to  that  subse- 
quent marriage  of  Bothwell  and  the  Queen  which 
was  even  then  in  contemplation ;  Mary  hoping  at 
this  time  to  procure  simultaneously  a  divorce 
from  Darnley.  To  Knox,  however,  and  to  the 
General  Assembly,  the  Primate's  reinstature  nat- 
urally appeared  to  be  the  first  step  in  the  "setting 
up  again  of  that  Roman  Antichrist  within  this 
realm."  x 

VII.  Another  notable  proceeding  of  this  Gen- 
eral Assembly  bears  still  more  conspicuously  the 
marks  of  the  Reformer's  intervention.  It  was 
twelve  years  since  he  had  ceased  to  be  a  minister 
of  the  Church  of  England ;  but  the  zeal  which  he 
had  manifested  in  former  days  for  Puritan  usages 
within    that    Church    was    not    dead,    but    only 

1  Continuation  of  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  539-548;  Keith,  iii., 
152-156;    Calderw.,  ii.,  326,  335-340, 


324  John  Knox  [i565- 

dormant.  It  was  now  reawakened  by  the  "  dolo- 
rous bruit"  that  many  of  her  clergy,  including 
"some  of  the  best  learned,"  had  been  punished 
with  deprival  *  for  refusing  to  wear  "such  gar- 
ments as  idolaters  in  time  of  greatest  darkness 
did  use,  in  their  superstitious  and  idolatrous  serv- 
ice." At  his  own  suggestion,  we  may  assume, 
Knox  was  requested  to  prepare  a  letter  of  remon- 
strance to  the  "Bishops  and  Pastors  of  God's 
Church  in  England."  The  letter  is  characteristic 
of  the  writer.  It  blends  a  broad  spirit  of  ecclesi- 
astical fellowship  and  a  fine  appeal  to  Christian 
charity,  with  some  plain  speaking  which  was  not 
calculated  to  win  concession.  He  recognises  cor- 
dially the  Church  of  England  as  a  sister  com- 
munion, "  professing  with  us  in  Scotland  the  truth 
of  Christ";  and  he  "commits  heartily"  her  bish- 
ops and  clergy  to  the  "mighty  protection  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."  Nothing,  moreover,  could  be  more 
becoming  than  his  reminder,  "what  tenderness  is 
in  a  scrupulous  conscience";  his  "crave  that 
Christian  charity  may  so  prevail  with  you  that 
ye  do  to  one  another  as  ye  desire  others  to  do  to 
you  " ;  and  his  personal  appeal  to  his  readers  "  not 

1  Among  the  deprived  were  several  of  Knox's  personal 
friends,  including  Miles  Coverdale,  the  translator  of  the 
Bible,  Foxe,  the  martyrologist,  and  Sampson,  Dean  of  Christ- 
church,  Oxford.  The  special  occasion  of  the  deprival  was 
nonconformity  to  the  "Advertisements"  of  1564, — a  series 
of  strict  injunctions  regarding  vestments  and  ceremonies. 
The  Advertisements  were  enforced  by  the  bishops  under 
royal  pressure  (Marsden,  Early  Puritans,  pp.  46-52). 


1568]  Protestant  Depression  325 

to  refuse  the  earnest  request  of  us  your  brethren." 
But  when  he  proceeds  to  apply  to  the  question 
the  Apostle's  words,  "What  hath  Christ  to  do 
with  Belial?"  and  to  denounce  "surplice,  corner 
cap,  and  tippet"  as  "Romish  rags,  and  dregs  of 
that  odious  Romish  beast,"  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
most  of  the  prelates  addressed  would  be  rather 
irritated  than  persuaded.1 

Knox  himself  was  probably  the  bearer  of  this 
communication  to  the  English  clergy;  for  on  the 
same  day  on  which  the  letter  was  approved  he 
received  permission  from  the  Assembly  to  "pass 
to  the  realm  of  England  to  visit  his  children,  and 
to  do  his  other  business."  Nathanael  and  Eleazer 
were  by  this  time  ten  and  nine  years  of  age,  and 
had  been  sent  to  live  with  their  grandmother,2  or 
some  other  of  their  maternal  relatives,  with  a 
view  to  their  education.  The  permission  of  the 
Church  to  Knox  was  accompanied  by  the  condi- 
tion that  he  should  return  to  Edinburgh  before 

1  Continuation  of  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  544-547;  Keith,  iii., 
148-152;  Calderw.,  H.  of  K.,  332-335.  In  spite  of  his  strong 
language,  however,  to  the  bishops,  Knox  did  his  best  to 
dissuade  deprived  clergy  from  secession  and  schism  at  this 
time.  A  letter  is  extant,  written  to  Knox  in  1568  by  one  of 
the  Puritans  who  did  secede,  thanking  the  Reformer  for  a 
"gentle  letter"  which  he  had  addressed  to  the  seceders,  but 
adding:  "it  is  not  in  all  points  liked,"  and  indicating  that 
Knox  had  expressed  himself  "not  well  contented  "  with  their 
procedure.  See  Lorimer,  John  Knox  and  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, 229-235,  298-300. 

2  Mrs.  Bowes  survived  until  a  short  time  before  Knox's 
own  death  (Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  513). 


326  John  Knox  [1565- 

the  ensuing  General  Assembly  (25th  June,  1567), 
and  by  a  warm  tribute  to  his  "inculpable  life," 
"pure  doctrine,"  and  "fruitful  use  of  the  talent 
granted  to  him  by  the  Eternal  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  Kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ."  z  Of  the 
six  months  or  less  spent  by  Knox  in  England  at 
this  time  no  record  remains.  His  headquarters 
would  naturally  be  Berwick  or  its  neighbourhood, 
the  abode  of  his  wife's  kindred.  We  cannot  tell 
whether  the  voice,  which  had  been  so  effective  in 
the  pulpit  of  Berwick  parish  church  in  former 
years,  was  again  heard  in  the  same  place;  but 
many  old  friendships  with  those  who  had  been 
his  fellow-workers  in  the  town  and  throughout 
the  county  would  be  revived.  That  he  would 
endeavour  to  follow  up,  by  personal  interviews 
with  leading  churchmen,  the  General  Assembly's 
plea  for  those  Puritans  who  were  partly  his  own 
spiritual  offspring,  is  what  might  be  expected 
from  his  strong  convictions,  ardent  aspirations, 
and  dutiful  self-assertion. 

VIII.  During  Knox's  absence  in  England  oc- 
curred that  tragic  event  which  (whatever  may 
have  been  Mary's  relation  to  it)  issued  in  her  own 
life's  tragedy— the  murder  of  Darnley  at  Kirk  of 
Field,  Edinburgh,  on  the  10th  of  February,  1567. 
The  mock  trial  and  acquittal  of  Bothwell  on  the 
12th  of  April;  the  marriage  of  the  infatuated 
Queen  to  the  reputed  murderer,  on  the  15th  of 

1  Universal  Kirk,  85;  Keith,  iii.,  148,  149. 


iS68]  Protestant  Depression  327 

May,  confirming  the  widespread  belief  in  her  con- 
nivance ;  the  outbreak  of  civil  war,  when  an  army 
composed  of  Catholics  as  well  as  Protestants  was 
raised  as  a  national  protest  against  misgovern- 
ment  and  toleration  of  crime ;  and  the  encounter 
between  the  Queen's  supporters  and  opponents  at 
Carberry  Hill  in  Midlothian,  issuing  in  the  flight 
of  Bothwell,  the  surrender  of  Mary,  and  her  con- 
finement in  Lochleven  Castle — such  was  the  series 
of  events  which  took  place  in  Scotland  while 
Knox  was  still  residing  in  England. 

On  the  25th  of  June,  nine  days  after  the  Queen 
became  a  prisoner,  the  regular  meeting  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  was  held .  Knox,  according  to  agree- 
ment, had  already  returned  to  Edinburgh.  He 
found  the  great  mass  of  nobles  and  gentry  hostile 
to  Bothwell,  but  divided  in  opinion  as  to  what  was 
to  be  done  with  Mary.1  On  the  one  side  were  the 
Earls  of  Morton,  Mar,  and  Glencairn ;  Lords  Lynd- 
say,  Ruthven,  and  Ochiltree,  Kirckaldy  of  Grange, 
and  many  others  who  would  be  satisfied  with  no- 
thing less  than  the  deposition  of  Mary,  the  corona- 
tion of  the  infant  Prince,  and  the  establishment 
of  a  regency.  On  the  other  side  were  the  Duke  of 
Chatelherault,  the  Earls  of  Huntly,  Argyle,  and 
Crawford,  Lords  Boyd  and  Herries,  Maitland  of 
Lethington,  and  a  numerous  following,  who  were 
willing  to  restore  the  Queen  to  her  position,  if 

1  Calderw.,  H.  of  K.,  ii.,  371 ;  Con  tin.  of  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii., 
563;   Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  552;  Froude,  H.  of  E.,  chap.  xlix. 


328  John  Knox  [i56S- 

security  were  obtained  that  her  connexion  with 
Bothwell  would  cease.  Moray  was  absent  in 
France.  It  depended  largely  on  the  attitude  of 
the  Church  which  party  in  the  State  would  prove 
the  stronger;  and  the  importance  of  the  pro- 
cedure of  the  approaching  General  Assembly  was 
enhanced  by  the  fact  that,  owing  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  Queen,  there  could  be  no  constitu- 
tional meeting  of  Parliament.  It  lay  with  the 
supreme  court  of  the  Church  to  voice  the  national 
will. 

Knox,  as  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  As- 
sembly, was  practically  master  of  the  situation,  and 
he  had  no  difficulty  in  coming  to  a  decision.  At 
once  as  a  patriot  and  as  a  Reformer,  he  saw  in  the 
continued  rule  of  Mary,  apart  from  her  alleged  crim- 
inality (in  which  he  believed)  regarding  Darnley's 
murder,  the  gravest  danger  both  to  Church  and  to 
State.1  Bothwell,  moreover,  was  still  at  large:  if 
the  Queen  were  restored  to  power  he  might  be 
eventually  reinstated ;  and  it  was  known  that  he 
harboured  murderous  designs  against  the  infant 
son  of  his  victim.  For  Knox,  the  only  alterna- 
tives as  regards  Mary  could  be  imprisonment  and 
compulsory  abdication,  or  trial  for  complicity 
in  her  husband's  assassination,  involving,  if  her 
guilt  was  proved,  a  sentence  of  death.2     From  the 


1  Letter  in  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  566;   Knox's  Prayer  after 
the  Regent's  murder,  in  Calderwood,  ii.,  515. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  553,  554;   Tytler,  vii.,  164,  165. 


iS68]  Protestant  Depression  329 

ecclesiastical  point  of  view,  Knox,  who  knew 
the  men  on  both  sides,  had  much  more  to  hope 
for  the  Reformed  Church  from  the  Confederate 
Lords,  as  they  were  called,  who  had  imprisoned 
the  Queen,  than  from  the  party,  headed  by 
Chatelherault,  who  were,  for  the  most  part, 
lukewarm  Protestants  or  acknowledged  Catholics. 
The  Reformer  allied  himself  with  the  Confed- 
erate party.  At  his  suggestion,  probably,  the 
Assembly  was  adjourned  from  the  25th  June  to 
the  20th  July,  with  a  view  to  a  more  effective 
declaration  of  the  Church's  policy.  A  missive, 
signed  by  Knox  and  five  other  ministers,  was  sent 
to  Protestant  nobles  and  gentry  of  the  Queen's 
party,  who  had  absented  themselves  from  the  As- 
sembly, urging  them  "in  God's  name"  to  give 
their  "presence,  labours,  and  concurrence"  with 
a  view  to  the  removal  of  "impediments  "  which 
had  ' '  stayed  the  Reformation. " 1  A  public  Fast  was 
appointed  to  be  held  on  Sunday,  the  13th  of  July, 
in  order  to  bring  home  more  impressively  to  the 
people  the  gravity  of  the  situation.  From  his 
pulpit  in  St.  Giles's,  Knox  denounced  day  after 
day  the  conduct  of  the  Queen,  as  well  as  of  Both- 
well,  and  prepared  the  public  mind  for  the  drastic 
policy  which  the  Confederate  Lords  had  already 
resolved  to  pursue.2  When  the  Assembly  met 
again   on  the    20th   of  July,    a  conference   was 

1  Calderw.,  ii.,  368-370;    Keith,  iii.,  164-168. 

2  Keith,  iii.,  171;   Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  554. 


330  John  Knox  [1565- 

arranged  between  representatives  of  the  nobil- 
ity and  delegates  of  the  clergy.  Articles  were 
adopted  and  signed  by  over  sixty  lords,  by  com- 
missioners of  the  burghs,  and  by  representatives  of 
the  ministers.  The  signatories  bound  themselves 
to  "further  the  punishment  of  the  horrible  mur- 
der of  the  King  .  .  .  upon  all  and  whomsoever 
persons  shall  be  found  guilty";  and  also  to  de- 
fend the  Prince  against  those  that  would  do  him 
injury.  It  was  the  prelude  to  the  intended  de- 
position of  the  mother,  and  acknowledgment  of 
the  son  as  king.  Thus  the  Church  supported  the 
politicians ;  the  politicians  also  undertook  to  sup* 
port  the  Church.  The  signatories  engaged,  "in 
the  first  Parliament  that  shall  be  holden, "  to 
ratify  and  complete  the  establishment  of  the 
Reformed  Kirk;  to  make  more  adequate  provi- 
sion for  the  ministry;  and  to  "root  out"  all 
remaining  "monuments  of  idolatry."  * 

While  the  General  Assembly  was  still  in  session, 
Mary  was  constrained  to  abdicate  her  throne  in 
favour  of  her  infant,  James,  and  to  sanction  the 
appointment  of  Moray  as  Regent.  A  few  days 
after  the  Assembly  had  been  dissolved,  the  young 
King  was  crowned  in  the  Greyfriars'  Church,  Stir- 
ling, by  the  Earl  of  Atholl;  the  Earl  of  Morton 
and  Lord  Home  took  an  oath,  on  behalf  of  the 
infant  Sovereign,  that  he  would  maintain  the  Pro- 
testant religion;   the  Bishop  of  Orkney,  who  had 

i  Calderw.,  ii.,  378-383. 


i568]  Protestant  Depression  33 l 

embraced  the  Protestant  faith,  anointed  the 
newly  crowned  child  according  to  ancient  usage; 
and  Knox  preached  what  George  Buchanan  eu- 
logises as  an  "excellent  sermon"  from  a  pulpit 
still  preserved,  taking  as  an  appropriate  text  the 
passage  in  II  Kings  which  records  the  corona- 
tion of  Joash.  Within  a  month  a  commission  of 
regency  was  granted  to  the  Earl  of  Moray,  who 
had  returned  to  Scotland  early  in  August.1  The 
great  majority  of  the  nobility,  including  many 
who  had  favoured  less  drastic  measures,  now  ac- 
cepted, or  at  least  acquiesced  in,  the  situation.2 
There  remained,  indeed,  a  party,  including  the 
Hamilton  faction,  able  and  ready,  as  will  be  seen, 
when  opportunity  arrived,  to  give  serious  trouble. 
But  the  support  of  Knox  and  the  Church,  backed 
apparently  by  the  majority  of  the  people,  rend- 
ered the  new  Regent's  party  the  strongest  in  the 
State;  and  the  Parliament  which  assembled  in 
December,  1567,  reflected  the  national  mind  when 
it  confirmed  the  Regency,  as  well  as  the  policy,  on 
the  whole,  of  the  Confederate  Lords. 

Moray  did  not  fail  to  recognise  that  to  the 
Church,  under  Knox's  leadership,  he  owed  largely 
the  position  which  he  held;  and  the  compact  of 

1  Throgmorton  to  Elizabeth  in  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  556; 
Contin.  of  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  565;  Calderwood,  ii.,  384. 
According  to  Calderwood,  Knox  "repined"  at  the  ceremony 
of  anointing,  but  his  objection  was  either  not  persisted  in  or 
was  overruled. 

2  Tytler,  vii.,  193. 


332  John  Knox  [1565- 

July  between  the  General  Assembly  and  Confed- 
erate Lords  was  fairly  kept.  The  Parliament  of 
December,  1567,  accordingly,  marks  an  epoch  in 
Scottish  Church  history.  Among  its  enactments 
was  the  ratification  of  the  Acts  against  Roman- 
ism and  in  favour  of  Protestantism,  passed  by 
that  Convention  of  1560  which  had  virtually  been 
a  Parliament,  but  from  which  Mary  Stuart  had 
significantly  withheld  her  imprimatur.  The  Re- 
formed Church  became  thus  constitutionally  as 
well  as  practically  established.  Other  statutes 
followed.  In  all  schools,  colleges,  and  universities 
there  was  presented  to  teachers  the  alternative 
of  conformity  to  the  Reformed  faith  or  of  depri- 
vation. A  more  effective  security  was  provided 
for  the  due  payment  of  ministers'  stipends  as  a 
first  charge  upon  the  "thirds"  of  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal revenues;  while  some  prospect  was  held  out 
of  the  ultimate  restoration  of  the  teinds,  as  the 
Church's  "proper  patrimony,"  to  ecclesiastical 
use.1  The  provision  for  the  Protestantism  of  the 
Sovereign,  which  formed  so  important  a  feature  in 
the  revised  constitution  of  England  at  the  Revolu- 
tion of  1689,  was  anticipated,  as  regards  Scotland, 
by  the  enactment  that  "all  kings,  princes,  or  mag- 
istrates occupying  their  place,  shall  at  the  time 
of  their  coronation  take  their  great  oath,  in  the 


1  According  to  Spottiswoode  (ii.,  83)  "the  Regent  did  what 
he  could  to  have  the  Church  possessed  with  the  patrimony," 
but  "it  could  not  be  obtained." 


i568]  Protestant  Depression  333 

presence  of  God,  that  they  shall  maintain  the  true 
religion  now  received,  [and]  shall  abolish  and  with- 
stand'all  false  religion  contrary  to  the  same."1 
So  fully  satisfied  was  John  Knox  at  this  time 
with  the  secure  and  hopeful  position  of  the 
Reformed  Church  that,  in  February,  1568,  pre- 
maturely old  through  constant  toil  and  frequent 
trouble,  he  thought  of  spending  the  evening  of 
his  life  among  the  remnant  of  his  congregation 
at  Geneva,  "if  they  stood  in  need  of  [his]  la- 
bours"; "seeing  it  hath  pleased  God's  Majesty, 
above  all  men's  expectation,  to  prosper  the  work 
for  the  performing  whereof  I  left  that  company."  2 
For  the  Reformer,  however,  there  was  to  be  no 
quiet  eventide.  His  life-work  was  not  yet  com- 
pleted; and  unforeseen  "dolours"  were  in  store 
for  the  Scottish  Church  and  State. 


1  Calderw.,  ii.,  388-390;    Tytler,  vii.,  196-200. 

2  Knox  to  John  Wood.     Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  559. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

LAST  YEARS  OF  KNOX'S  LIFE — POLITICAL,  ECCLESI- 
ASTICAL,   AND    PERSONAL   TROUBLES 

RESIDENCE    AT    ST.    ANDREWS 

1568-1572 

THE  closing  years  of  Knox's  life  were  for  the 
Reformer  himself,  for  the  Church,  and  for 
the  country  a  period  of  trouble. 

I.  The  virtual  deposition  of  Queen  Mary  was 
not  followed  by  any  effective  foreign  intervention 
in  her  favour.  In  the  eyes  of  Catholics  abroad, 
Mary,  personally,  had  come  under  a  cloud  through 
her  marriage  with  Bothwell  and  its  attendant 
circumstances.  France,  moreover,  at  this  period, 
was  distracted  by  intestine  warfare  between  Ro- 
manists and  Huguenots ;  Spain  was  occupied  with 
the  suppression  of  rebellion  in  her  Flemish  do- 
minions; the  interference  of  England  went  little 
beyond  remonstrances  of  doubtful  sincerity.  But 
trouble  arose  at  home.  First  came  the  escape 
of  the  Queen  from  Lochleven  in  May,  1568,  when 
a  large  proportion  of  the  Scottish  nobility,  Pro- 
testants as  well  as  Catholics,  including  many  who 

334 


[156S-1572]         Declining  Years  335 

had  acquiesced  in  Moray's  regency,  rallied  to  her 
standard  at  Hamilton.  The  defeat  of  the  Queen's 
army  at  Langside  and  her  flight  into  England 
lessened  the  strain,  but  did  not  remove  the  peril. 
The  Hamiltons,  Huntly,  Argyle,  and  others  occu- 
pied several  strongholds,  and  gave  serious  trouble 
in  the  north  and  in  the  west.  At  this  crisis  the 
staunch  adherence  of  the  General  Assembly,  which 
guided  Protestant  opinion  and  itself  received  di- 
rection from  Knox,  was  a  valuable  aid  to  the 
Regent's  Government.  The  Assembly  of  Febru- 
ary, 1569,  appointed  a  Commission  to  use  "all 
means  possible"  to  bring  the  nobles  to  an  "ac- 
knowledgment of  his  authority."  A  letter  com- 
posed by  Knox  was  directed  to  the  Protestant 
Lords  who  had  "made  defection,"  charging  them 
with  "most  treasonable"  opposition  to  the  "au- 
thority most  lawfully  established,"  and  exhorting 
them  "speedily  to  return  to  obedience."1  In 
November,  1569,  a  brief  rebellion  broke  out  in  the 
north  of  England.  The  Earls  of  Northumberland 
and  Westmoreland  hoped,  with  the  help  of  Scot- 
tish allies,  political  and  religious,  to  restore  Mary 
to  liberty  and  power,  and  to  re-establish  the  Catho- 
lic Faith  in  both  realms.  When  the  rebel  leaders, 
after  defeat,  had  fled  into  Scotland,  the  Regent 
offered  to  deliver  the  Earl  of  Northumberland  to 
Elizabeth,  on  condition  that  Mary  was  surrend- 
ered to  himself,  under  a  guarantee  that  her  life 

1  Calderw.,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  481-484. 


336  John  Knox  [1568- 

would  be  spared.1  In  no  other  way,  it  appeared, 
could  Catholic  intrigues  be  suppressed.  Knox 
supported  the  policy  of  Moray  and  sent  a  private 
letter  to  Cecil  by  the  Regent's  envoy,  warning  the 
English  statesman  that  "if  ye  strike  not  at  the 
root,  the  branches  that  appear  to  be  broken  will 
bud  again."  2 

The  negotiations  regarding  the  removal  of  the 
Queen  to  Scotland  were  interrupted  by  the  grav- 
est trouble  which  at  this  period  darkened  Knox's 
life — the  assassination  of  the  Regent  at  Linlith- 
gow on  the  23rd  of  January,  by  James  Hamilton, 
of  Bothwellhaugh,  a  nephew  of  the  ex-Primate. 
How  great  Knox's  anxiety  for  Scotland  was  at 
the  time  of  this  tragic  death  is  shown  by  the 
prayer  which  he  offered  up  on  the  following  day : 

"Seeing  that  we  are  now  left  as  a  flock  without  a 
pastor  in  civil  policy,  and  as  a  ship  without  a  rudder 
in  the  midst  of  the  storm,  let  Thy  presence,  Lord, 
watch  and  defend  us  in  these  dangerous  days,  that 
the  wicked  of  the  world  may  see  that  as  well  without 
the  help  of  man  as  with  it,  Thou  art  able  to  rule, 
maintain,  and  guide  the  little  flock  that  dependeth 
upon  Thee."  3 


1  Tytler,  H.  of  Sc,  vii.,  299. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  568.  It  is  held  by  many  that  these 
words  point  to  Mary  being  executed  in  England ;  but  in  view 
of  the  occasion  of  the  letter,  they  seem  rather  to  suggest  the 
impolicy  of  withholding  Mary  from  the  control  of  the  Regent's 
Government. 

3  Calderw.,  ii.,  513;    Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  568. 


1572]  Declining  Years  337 

To  Knox  the  death  of  Moray  was  a  heavy  per- 
sonal bereavement  as  well  as  public  calamity. 
Their  friendship  had  begun  while  the  future 
Regent  was  a  youth;  to  Knox's  influence  his 
religious  convictions  were  largely  due;  and  the 
letter  of  the  Reformer  to  the  statesman  at  the 
time  of  their  estrangement,  amid  severe  reflec- 
tions on  Moray's  policy  of  concession  and  com- 
promise, contains  evidence  that  the  affection  of 
the  writer  was  only  repressed,  not  extinguished. 
If  the  Regent  in  his  dealings  with  others  was 
sometimes  tortuous,  he  acted  towards  Knox  a 
straightforward  as  well  as  friendly  part.  Dur- 
ing the  years  which  followed  their  reconciliation, 
the  personal  friendship  appears  to  have  been 
unclouded,  and  the  ecclesiastical  co-operation 
complete.  At  the  funeral  sermon,  unfortunately 
not  preserved,  which  Knox  preached  in  St.  Giles' 
from  the  significant  text,  ''Blessed  are  the  dead 
which  die  in  the  Lord,"  the  voice  which  was  wont 
from  that  pulpit  to  rouse  men  like  a  trumpet- 
call  to  conflict,  moved,  by  its  words  and  tones  of 
pathos,  a  vast  congregation  to  tears.  The  scene 
was  doubly  memorable.  It  revealed  that  within 
the  Reformer's  rough  exterior  there  was  a  tender 
heart;  and  it  expressed  the  popular  sentiment, 
attested  afterwards  by  two  historians  of  very 
different  ecclesiastical  standpoint,  for  whom 
the  impression  created  by  the  tragedy  of  Lin- 
lithgow   must    have    been    one    of    the    earliest 


33%  John  Knox  [1568- 

memories  of  their  childhood.  "He  moved  three 
thousand  persons  to  shed  tears,"  writes  Calder- 
wood,  "  for  the  loss  of  such  a  good  and  godly  gov- 
ernor." "  Loved  as  their  father  whilst  he  lived," 
records  Spottiswoode,  "mourned  grievously  at  his 
death, "  and  "to  this  day  honoured  with  the  title 
of  the  'Good  Regent.'"  x 

II.  To  political  trouble  was  added  ecclesiasti- 
cal anxiety. 

i.  The  coalition  of  Catholics  and  Protestants 
who  aimed  at  Mary's  restoration  was  naturally 
strengthened  by  the  removal  of  the  head  of  the  op- 
posite party  who  were  responsible  for  her  enforced 
abdication.  The  Earl  of  Lennox  (now  a  professed 
Protestant)  and  the  Earl  of  Mar  (Lord  Erskine), 
who  successively  held  the  regency  between  Moray's 
assassination  and  Knox's  own  death,  had  neither 
the  sagacity  nor  the  influence  of  their  predecessor ; 
and  the  Earl  of  Morton,  who  mainly  guided  the 
policy  of  the  party,  while  a  man  of  high  ability 
and  a  steadfast  although  self-seeking  Protestant, 
did  not  possess  and  did  not  deserve  the  full 
confidence  either  of  Church  or  of  nation.  After 
Moray's  death,  moreover,  the  "King's  party" 
was  weakened,  and  the  Queen's  party  correspond- 
ingly reinforced  by  a  considerable  number  of  se- 
cessions from  the  former  to  the  latter.  Maitland, 
who  under  Moray's  rule  had  been  a  secret  ad- 
versary of  the  Regent,   now  openly  joined  the 

1  Calderw.,  ii.,  525,  526;   Spottisw.,  ii.,  121. 


1572]  Declining  Years  339 

other  side,  and  was  followed  by  Kirkcaldy  of 
Grange,  to  whom  Moray  had  intrusted  Edinburgh 
Castle.1  To  Knox  the  secession  of  Kirkcaldy  was 
a  source  of  special  sorrow.  Both  had  been  dis- 
ciples of  George  Wishart.  They  had  shared  the 
perils  of  the  siege  of  St.  Andrews'  Castle,  the  hard- 
ships of  the  French  bondage,  the  toil  of  the  Re- 
formation conflict ;  and  the  Reformer  never  forgot 
his  former  friend's  "  early  courage  and  constancy 
in  the  cause  of  the  Lord."  2 

The  partisans  of  Queen  Mary,  including  as 
they  did  a  numerous  and  influential  Protestant 
section,  were  careful  not  to  alienate  popular 
sympathy  by  giving  their  countenance  to  an 
ecclesiastical  counter-revolution.  Soon  after  Mo- 
ray's death  they  "  purged  themselves  of  any  in- 
tention to  alter  religion,"  and  declared  that  they 
"preferred  the  advancement"  of  the  established 
religion  "to  their  lands  and  lives."  3  At  their  so- 
called  Parliament  in  June,  1571,  they  expressly 
ordained  that  none  should  "innovate,  change,  or 
pervert  the  form  of  religion  and  ministration  of 
the  sacraments  publicly  professed  within  this 
realm."  4  But  Knox  was  too  clear-sighted  and 
far-seeing  not  to  discern  that  along  with  the 
Queen's  restoration,  if  accomplished,  would  be  re- 
newed erelong  those  Protestant  concessions  and 

1  Calderw.,  ii.,  488,  555,  558. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.t  vi.,  657. 

3  Calderw.,  H.  of  K.,  ii.,  551,  552. 

4  Spottisw.,  ii.,  161. 


340  John  Knox  [156&- 

Roman  aggressions  which  had  almost  issued,  a 
few  years  before,  in  the  restoration  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

2.  On  the  other  hand,  the  policy  of  the  defin- 
itely Protestant  King's  party,  which  loyally  ac- 
knowledged the  successive  regencies  and  disowned 
the  Queen's  authority,  was  to  Knox  and  the 
General  Assembly  only  a  little  less  obnoxious 
than  that  of  their  political  rivals.  The  Reformed 
Church  was  wounded  in  the  house  of  her  pro- 
fessed friends.  Knox  complains  of  "unworthy 
men  who  had  been  thrust  [by  patronage]  into  the 
ministry  of  the  Kirk,"  and  of  "  merciless  devourers 
of  her  patrimony."  '  He  describes  both  factions  as 
"  fighting  against  God,"  and  declares  that  his  own 
political  party  "as  little  repented  the  troubling 
and  oppressing  the  poor  Kirk  of  God  as  ever  they 
[their  adversaries]  did."  "For  if,"  he  continues, 
"they  can  have  the  Kirk  lands  annexed  to  their 
houses,  they  appear  to  take  no  more  care  of  the 
instruction  of  the  ignorant,  and  of  the  feeding  of 
the  flock  of  Jesus  Christ,  than  ever  did  the  Pa- 
pists." '  That  these  were  not  outbursts  of  indi- 
vidual resentment  on  Knox's  part  appears  from  a 
strongly  worded  letter  of  remonstrance  by  the 
"mild"  Erskine  of  Dun  to  Regent  Mar  against 
"  unrighteous  usurpation"  and  "  spoil  of  the  Kirk" 
by  the  civil  authority  2 ;    and  also  from  various 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  603;    Calderw.,  iii.,  113-,!  14. 

2  Ibid.,  iii.,  156-162. 


Statue  of  John  Knox,  which  is  about  to  be  erected 
in  St.  Giles's.  (By  kind  permission  of  the  sculp- 
tor, Pittendrigh  MacGillivray,  Esq.,  R.S.A.) 


1572]  Declining  Years  341 

records  of  the  General  Assemblies  held  in  the 
years  1570  and  1571.  These  Assemblies  protest 
against  simoniacal  presentations  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  minors,  laymen,  or  otherwise  unqualified 
persons  to  pastoral  charges.  They  protest,  fur- 
ther, against  the  unlawful  assignations  to  lay- 
men from  the  Church's  share  of  the  "thirds," 
and  against  the  illegal  withholdment  from  minis- 
ters of  their  lawful  stipends.  Against  persistent 
offenders  in  such  matters  the  General  Assembly 
issued  what  was  then  the  stern  threat  of  excom- 
munication.1 The  remonstrance  and  petition  of 
the  Church,  however,  although  they  received  the 
personal  approval  of  the  Regent  Lennox,  were 
treated  with  contempt  by  the  Estates  through  the 
influence  of  Morton,  who  "ruled  all."  The  Com- 
missioners of  the  General  Assembly  were  stigmat- 
ised as  "proud  knaves,"  and  Morton  declared  "he 
should  lay  their  pride,  and  put  order  to  them."  2 
It  is  greatly  to  the  credit  of  Knox  and  other 
leaders  of  the  General  Assembly,  that  the  Church 
never  allowed  herself  to  be  provoked  by  incon- 
siderate treatment  endured  from  the  King's  party 
into  any  negotiations  with  the  opposite  faction. 


1  Universal  Kirk,  pp.  122,  127;   Calderw.,  iii.,  5,  7,  38. 

2  Ibid.,  iii.,  137,  138;  Bannatyne,  Mem.,  p.  186.  This 
meeting  of  the  Estates  was  held  at  Stirling  in  the  end  of 
August,  1 57 1,  a  few  days  before  the  slaughter  of  the  Regent. 
It  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  young  King — a  child  of  five — 
noticing  an  aperture  in  the  roof  of  the  hall,  remarked,  with 
unconscious  prescience,  "There  is  a  hole  in  this  Parliament." 


342  John  Knox  [i568- 

The  partisans  of  the  Queen,  at  this  period,  would 
readily  have  conceded,  for  the  time,  almost  any 
ecclesiastical  demands,  in  order  to  secure  the  val- 
uable support  of  the  leaders  of  the  Reformation. 
The  loyalty  of  the  Church,  under  Knox's  leader- 
ship, contributed  largely  to  save  the  State  from  a 
successful  political  revolution,  such  as  would  have 
resulted  primarily  in  the  restoration  of  Mary,  and 
might  have  issued  eventually  in  the  triumph  of 
Romanism  in  both  realms.1 

III.  In  the  case  of  Knox,  troubles  in  Church 
and  State  were  accompanied  by  private  trials. 
In  the  autumn  of  1 570  he  had  a  stroke  of  apoplexy 
which  affected  his  speech ;  and  although  he  speed- 
ily recovered  sufficiently  to  resume  his  preaching, 
his  activity  thenceforth  was  curtailed,  infirmity 
began  to  manifest  itself,  and  pulpit  work  was 
limited  to  Sunday  ministrations.2  In  December 
of  the  same  year,  he  came  into  personal  contro- 
versy with  his  former  friend,  Kirkcaldy,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Castle,  who  had  broken  into  the  city 
prison  and  rescued  a  man  charged  with  man- 
slaughter. Knox  denounced  this  conduct  from  the 
pulpit;  Kirkcaldy,  to  whom  an  exaggerated  re- 
port of  the  sermon  had  been  given,  brought  the 
matter  before  the  Kirk  Session  of  Edinburgh,  and 
demanded  an  apology,  which  Knox  refused  to 
give.     When  a  report  spread  that  the  Governor 


1  Cook,  H.  of  Church,  i.,  101,  159. 

2  Bannatyne,  Memorials,  p.  62. 


1572]  Declining  Years  343 

had  "  sworn  himself  enemy  to  John  Knox  and  will 
slay  him,"  a  remarkable  communication  was  sent 
to  Kirkcaldy  by  thirteen  noblemen  and  gentle- 
men of  the  south-west,  emphasising  the  ''great 
care  that  we  have  of  the  personage  of  that  man," 
and  "protesting  that  the  life  of  our  said  brother 
is  to  us  so  precious  and  dear  as  our  own  lives."  l 
In  the  following  March  (15  71)  the  Reformer  was 
troubled  with  anonymous  libels  thrown  into  the 
meeting-place,  or  affixed  to  the  door,  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  The  chief  charges  against  him 
were  his  alleged  defamation  of  the  Queen  in  his 
sermons  as  an  "idolatress,  murderer,  and  adul- 
teress," and  his  omission  of  her  name  from  his 
intercessory  prayers.  The  General  Assembly  re- 
frained from  any  formal  endorsement  of  the  Re- 
former's language,  but  "all  said  they  would  bear 
their  part  of  the  same  burden  with  him."  Some 
of  his  friends  entreated  him  to  "pass  over  such 
[anonymous]  accusations  with  silence."  But 
Knox  regarded  the  libel  as  requiring  a  public  an- 
swer. Mary  Stuart,  although  a  prisoner  in  Eng- 
land, was  at  this  very  time,  as  her  correspondence 
proves,  conspiring  with  Catholics  at  home  and 
abroad  for  her  own  restoration  and  the  advance- 
ment of  the  Catholic  cause.2  The  Castle  of  Edin- 
burgh was  in  the  hands  of  her  adherents ;  at  least 
one-half  of  the  nobility  were  on  her  side ;  at  any 

1  Bannatyne,  Memorials,  pp.  72-82. 

2  LabanofiE,  iii.,  222,  231. 


344  John  Knox  [iS6s- 

moment  she  might  become  a  power  in  the  realm. 
At  the  close  of  his  sermon,  accordingly,  on  the 
Sunday  after  the  delivery  of  the  libels,  Knox  re- 
asserted his  charges  against  Mary,  although  he 
denied  that  he  had  ever  spoken  of  her  as  a  "repro- 
bate" who  "cannot  repent."  He  vindicated  his 
refusal  to  pray  for  her  as  sovereign;  "for  sover- 
eign to  me  she  is  not ' ' ;  and  ended  by  challenging 
his  anonymous  assailants  to  accuse  him  "face  to 
face  at  the  next  General  Assembly."  I 

IV.  Towards  the  end  of  April,  1571,  Edin- 
burgh became  the  scene  of  conflict  between  the 
two  political  parties — conflict  which  continued, 
with  periods  of  intermission  or  truce,  until  after 
Knox's  death,  and  was  dignified  with  the  title  of 
"  the  wars  between  Leith  and  Edinburgh."  2  The 
Regent's  forces,  from  their  headquarters  in  Leith, 
threatened  the  Castle;  the  garrison  of  the  Castle 
warned  citizens  who  were  not  on  their  side  to 
leave  the  town.  The  leaders  of  the  Queen's  party 
had  no  desire  to  injure  Knox  personally,  but  they 
declined  to  guarantee  his  safety  at  the  hands  of 
fanatical  followers  who  regarded  him  as  the  chief 
enemy  of  their  Queen.3  The  incident  of  a  "bullet 
shot  in  at  the  window  [of  his  house]  of  purpose 
to  kill,"  and  a  plain  intimation  from  Kirkcaldy 
that  Knox  must  either  take  refuge  in  the  Castle 


1  Bannatyne,  Mem.,  pp.  91-100. 

2  Calderw.,  iii.,  71. 

3  Ibid.,  iii.,  72. 


i572]  Declining  Years  345 

or  leave  the  city,1  were  used  by  the  Reformer's 
friends,  including  his  colleague,  Craig,  as  a  means 
of  constraining  him  to  leave  Edinburgh  for  a  time. 
Knox  at  first  refused,  till  they  said  that  if  he 
stayed,  it  would  be  the  "  occasion  of  the  shedding 
of  their  blood  for  his  defence."2  This  considera- 
tion moved  him;  and  so,  after  joining  in  a  last  at- 
tempt, at  a  private  conference  in  the  Castle,3  to 
convince  the  leaders  of  the  Queen's  faction  of 
their  errors,  Knox,  on  the  5th  of  May,  left  Edin- 
burgh for  St.  Andrews.4  After  a  visit  to  Abbots- 
hall,5  on  the  way,  he  arrived  early  in  July,  with 
his  wife  and  their  three  children,6  in  the  city 
where  "God  had  first  opened  his  mouth."  He 
took  up  his  abode  in  the  Novum  Hospitium  of 
the  Priory ;  it  was  to  be  his  home  for  fully  a  year. 7 
Knox's  ecclesiastical  and  academic  environ- 
ment was  partly  congenial,  partly  the  reverse. 
On  the  one  hand,  the  College  of  St.  Leonard's — a 
"  well"  of  evangelical  teaching  from  Gavin  Logie's 
time— was  in  full  sympathy  with  the  Reformer. 
Patrick  Adamson,  who  had  recently  succeeded 
George  Buchanan  as  Principal  of  the  College,  had 
not  yet  shown  any  of  that  subservience  to  the 


1  Calderw.,  iii.,  p.  242. 

2  Bannatyne,  Mem.,  p.  118. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  125-132. 

4  Calderw.,  iii.,  73. 

s  Bannatyne,  Mem.,  p.  119. 

6  James  Melville's  Diary,  p.  26. 

7  Bannatyne,  Mem.,  p.  255 


346  John  Knox  [iS68- 

civil  power  which  was  afterwards  rewarded  with 
an  archbishopric;  and  among  the  academic  "re- 
gents" was  John  Davidson,  afterwards  minister 
of  Presto npans,  whose  Bretf  Commendation  of 
Uprichtness,  published  in  1 573,  is  mainly  a  lament- 
ation over  the  death  of  Knox, 

"  That  fervent  faithful  servant  of  the  Lord, 
A  most  true  preacher  of  the  Lordis  word."  * 

St.  Leonard's  "yard"  was  Knox's  favorite  resort 
in  leisure  hours.  There  "  he  would  call  us  scholars 
unto  him  and  bless  us" — so  an  alumnus  of  that 
time  testifies — "and  exhort  us  to  know  God  and 
His  work  in  our  country;  to  stand  by  the  good 
cause;  and  to  learn  the  good  instructions  of  our 
masters."  2  He  publicly  vindicated  the  St.  Leon- 
ard's students,  because  he  knew  their  conduct  to 
be  "upright  and  just,"  when  a  serious  charge  was 
made  against  them  by  the  head  of  the  rival  Col- 
lege of  St.  Salvator.3  If  he  was  wont  to  give 
the  young  men  solemn  counsel,  he  was  also  ready 
to  share  in  their  innocent  recreations;  and  one 
catches  a  glimpse  of  the  broad  sympathies  of  the 
Puritan  Reformer,  when  we  read  how  John  David- 
son "made  a  play  at  the  marriage  of  Mr.  John 
Colvin,"  a  fellow-regent,  "which,"  writes  Mel- 
ville,  "I  saw  played  [by  the  students]   in   Mr. 


1  McCrie,  Life  of  Knox  (ed.  1855),  p.  451 

2  Melville's  Diary,  p.  75. 

3  Bannatyne,  Mem.,  p.  258. 


1572]  Declining  Years  347 

Knox's  presence."  T  On  the  other  hand,  there 
were  in  St.  Andrews  at  that  time  men  in  high 
position  who  were  lukewarm  Protestants,  fa- 
voured the  Queen's  party,  and  bore  no  good  will 
to  Knox  as  a  steadfast  supporter  of  the  Regency. 
Robert  Hamilton,  one  of  the  ministers  of  the  city, 
accused  the  Reformer  of  being  privy  to  Darnley's 
murder,  but  had  to  disavow  the  calumny.2  Archi- 
bald Hamilton,  a  regent  of  St.  Salvator's  College, 
who  eventually  renounced  Protestantism  and  be- 
came a  bitter  Romanist,  began  even  at  this  time 
to  defame  Knox,  whom  after  the  latter's  death 
he  grossly  maligned.3  The  Provost  of  St.  Salva- 
tor's, John  Rutherfurd,  while  professing  his  "  good 
opinion  of  Knox,"  discloses  in  correspondence  and 
otherwise  a  scarcely  friendly  disposition  4 ;  and 
the  relations  of  the  Reformer  even  with  his  old 
colleague,  John  Douglas,  the  Rector  of  the  Uni- 
versity, could  not  at  this  time  have  been  very 
cordial,  in  view  of  the  latter's  readiness,  as  we 
shall  see,  to  become  a  "tulchan"  archbishop. 

In  his  correspondence  with  friends,  Knox  gives 
a  somewhat  doleful  account  of  his  physical  con- 
dition at  St.  Andrews.  He  describes  the  "daily 
decay  of  his  natural  strength"  and  forebodes  his 
"  sudden  departure  from  the  miseries  of  this  life." 
He  is  "weary  of  the  world";   and  at  the  close  of 

1  Melville,  p.  25. 

2  Bannatyne,  p.  260. 

3  Ibid.,  262,  263;    Archibald  Hamilton,  Lte  Conf.  Calv.  Sect. 

4  Bannatyne,  pp.  257,  258;   Calderw.,  iii.,  207. 


348  John  Knox  [1568- 

one  of  his  letters  refers  to  himself  as  ''lying  in 
St.  Andrews  half  dead."1  But  this  "half -dead" 
man  was  far  from  being  either  torpid  or  idle. 
His  "infirmity  of  the  flesh"  did  not  prevent  him 
from  preaching  regularly  in  the  parish  church, 
and  James  Melville's  memorable  description  of  his 
pulpit  efforts  during  this  year  supplies  graphic 
testimony  to  his  continued  effectiveness  as  a 
preacher : 

"I  heard  him  teach  the  Prophecy  of  Daniel  that 
summer  [15  71]  and  the  winter  following.  I  had  my 
pen  and  my  little  book,  and  took  away  such  things 
as  I  could  comprehend.  In  the  opening  up  of  his 
text,  he  was  moderate,  the  space  of  half  an  hour: 
but  when  he  entered  to  application  he  made  me  so 
to  grew  [thrill]  and  tremble,  that  I  could  not  hold  a 
pen  to  write.  ...  I  saw  him  every  day  of  his  doc- 
trine go  hulie  and  fear  [slow  and  wary]  with  a  furring 
of  martricks  about  his  neck,  a  staff  in  one  hand,  and 
good  godly  Richard  Bannatyne,  his  servant,  holding 
up  the  other  oxter,  from  the  Abbey  to  the  parish 
kirk;  and  by  the  said  Richard  and  another  servant 
lifted  up  to  the  pulpit,  where  be  behoved  to  lean,  on 
his  first  entry.  But  ere  he  had  done  with  his  ser- 
mon, he  was  so  active  and  vigorous  that  he  was  like 
to  ding  that  pulpit  in  blads,  and  flee  out  of  it."  2 


1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  605,  616. 

2  Melville,  p.  75;  comp.  John  Davidson  in  his  Breif  Com- 
mend, of  Uprtchtness,  referring  specially  to  this  period  of 
Knox's  ministry: 

"For  weill  I  wait  [wot]  that  Scotland  never  bare 
In  Scottish  leid  [language]  ane  man  mair  eloquent." 


i572]  Declining  Years  349 

Preparation  for  the  pulpit  was  not  the  only 
literary  work  which  occupied  Knox's  time  at  St. 
Andrew's.  From  his  extant  correspondence  it 
appears  that  he  was  engaged  in  collecting  copies 
of  important  documents  bearing  on  the  four  books 
of  his  History,  already  composed,  as  well  as  in 
arranging  materials  for  a  continuation  of  the 
work.1  He  also  prepared  for  the  press  an  elabor- 
ate answer  to  a  controversial  letter  addressed  by 
James  Tyrie,  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Jesuit 
College  at  Paris,  to  his  Protestant  brother,  David 
Tyrie,  of  Drumkilbo,  Perthshire.  The  letter  had 
been  received  about  six  years  before,  and  had 
been  forwarded  at  the  time  to  Knox,  with  a  re- 
quest for  a  refutation  which  was  hastily  supplied 
but  not  published.  In  the  interval,  however, 
other  Jesuits  had  been  "  stirred  up  to  trouble 
godly  hearts"  with  similar  arguments,  and  Knox 
now  printed  and  issued  Tyrie's  letter  along  with 
his  own  reply.  The  Jesuit  professor  had  endeav- 
oured to  discredit  the  Reformed  Church  as  being 
"no  Kirk,"  on  account  of  its  being  "new  found," 
not  "Catholic,"  "invisible,"  and  devoid  of  "apos- 
tolic succession."  Knox  replies  that  the  Church 
of  the  Reformers  has  in  reality  the  "same  an- 
tiquity as  that  of  the  Apostles ' ' ;  that  Catholicity 
is  no  test  of  righteousness,  otherwise  "sin,"  being 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  608-612.  These  materials  were 
afterwards  used  by  David  Buchanan  in  the  composition  of 
what  is  called  Book  V.  of  the  History  of  the  Reformation  in 
Scotland. 


350  John  Knox  [iS68- 

universal,  "should  have  been  good";  that  the 
Reformed  Scottish  Kirk  is  visible  in  the  same 
sense  as  the  Churches  of  Corinth  and  Philippi; 
although  the  Church  of  Christ  is  also  invisible  in 
so  far  as  it  is  not  confined  to  any  special  building, 
place,  or  outward  organisation,  but  exists  wher- 
ever Christ  truly  is;  and  finally,  that  the  Re- 
formed Church  possesses  what  the  Church  of 
Rome  lacks,  genuine  apostolical  succession,  inas- 
much as  "in  our  kirks  we  admit  neither  doctrine, 
rite,  nor  ceremony  which  by  the  Apostles'  writings 
we  find  not  authorised."  x 

V.  During  Knox's  residence  at  St.  Andrews, 
and  under  his  own  eyes  in  that  city,  an  ecclesias- 
tical policy  was  inaugurated  which,  for  over  a 
century,  under  four  Stuart  kings,  became  the 
fruitful  source  of  discord,  despotism,  and  perse- 
cution; issuing  in  schism,  rebellion,  and  revolu- 
tion. A  modified  episcopacy  was  introduced  into 
the  Reformed  Church  of  Scotland. 

After  the  Reformation,  the  bishops  (as  well  as 
the  abbots  and  priors)  of  the  Roman  Church, 
although  deprived  otherwise  of  ecclesiastical 
status,  continued  not  only  to  receive  two-thirds 
of  their  emoluments,  but  also  to  exercise  par- 
liamentary functions  as  the  Spiritual  Estate  of 
the  realm.  In  the  eleven  years,  however,  that 
had  intervened,  many  of  these  prelates  had  died; 
and  if  the  Spiritual  Estate  were  allowed  to  become 


i  Laing,  W .  of  K.,  vi.,  471-512. 


Edinburgh  Castle,  as  it  was  before  the  siege  of  1573- 


i572]  Declining  Years  351 

extinct,  the  validity  of  parliamentary  proceedings, 
in  which  one  branch  of  the  legislature  was  wholly 
unrepresented,  might  be  subsequently  challenged 
— so  it  was  believed — by  any  party  desirous  of 
effecting  an  ecclesiastical  counter-revolution.  Ad- 
ditional considerations,  public  and  private,  in- 
duced the  Government  of  the  Regent,  under 
Morton's  influence,  to  revive  the  office  of  bishop 
in  the  Reformed  Church.  The  King's  party 
looked  forward  to  the  ''union  of  the  kingdoms" 
under  James,  at  Elizabeth's  death:  and  it  was 
considered  prudent  to  bring  the  Scottish  Church, 
by  anticipation,  into  conformity  so  far  with  the 
Church  of  England.1  The  Government,  further, 
lacked  the  money  required  to  maintain  its  posi- 
tion effectively  against  the  Queen's  party,  which 
received  financial  support  from  France.  To 
annex  for  secular  purposes  the  entire  episcopal 
revenues  would  have  provoked  the  combined  op- 
position of  the  Church  party  and  of  the  Marian 
faction ;  whereas  the  appointment  of  bishops  con- 
tent to  retain  only  a  part  of  the  revenues  would 
render  practicable  an  arrangement  through  which 
the  larger  portion  of  the  emoluments  would  be 
transferred  to  the  State.  Members  of  the  nobil- 
ity, moreover,  including  Morton  himself,  had  been 
invested,  temporarily  at  least,  with  the  posses- 
sion of  episcopal  or  abbatial  revenues,  as  the  re- 
ward of  past  or  prospective  services ;  and  it  was 

1  Melville,  Diary,  pp.  47,  48. 


352  John  Knox  [i568- 

obviously  their  interest  to  promote  any  enact- 
ment by  which  their  perpetual  tenure  of  the 
greater  portion  of  the  spoil  might  be  legalised. 

Among  the  Reformed  clergy  there  was  from  the 
first  a  party  who  had  no  prejudice  against  an 
episcopate;  and  the  ministry,  along  with  the 
Church  as  a  whole,  while  by  no  means  enamoured 
of  episcopacy,  were  not  committed  at  this  time 
to  any  belief  in  its  inherent  unlawfulness.  The 
Presbytery,  as  a  court  possessing  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction,  had  not  yet  come  into  existence;  it 
was  as  yet  nothing  more  than  a  gathering  of  clergy 
for  mutual  edification.  In  the  circumstances  then 
existing,  several  considerations  of  expediency 
united  to  render  the  leaders  of  the  Church  willing 
to  acquiesce  in  the  appointment  of  Protestant 
bishops  without  the  obnoxious  powers  of  an 
ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  The  proposal  afforded 
some  prospect  of  the  Church  recovering  a  further 
portion  of  her  ancient  patrimony.  The  organisa- 
tion of  superintendents,  moreover,  had  never  been 
completed.  Owing  mainly  to  the  lack  of  suffi- 
cient emoluments,  only  five  out  of  the  ten  ec- 
clesiastical provinces,  into  which  Scotland  was 
divided  by  the  Book  of  Discipline,  had  been  pro- 
vided with  these  officials :  their  place  was  inade- 
quately supplied  by  commissioners  of  the  General 
Assembly.  The  substitution  of  bishops  for  super- 
intendents, with  substantially  similar  authority, 
would  remove  the  financial  difficulty,   and  also 


i572]  Declining  Years  353 

restore  to  the  Church  direct  parliamentary  influ- 
ence. Finally,  the  Regent's  party,  which  inau- 
gurated the  new  policy,  although  aggressive  and 
illiberal  (since  Moray's  death)  in  its  relations  with 
the  Church,  was  less  objectionable  to  steadfast 
Protestants  than  the  Queen's  faction,  the  triumph 
of  which  might  eventually  involve  the  disestab- 
lishment and  disendowment  of  the  Reformed 
Church  altogether.  At  once,  therefore,  to  recover 
ecclesiastical  revenue  and  to  secure  civil  protec- 
tion, the  Church  of  that  period  was  prepared  to 
accept  the  restoration  of  the  episcopate  in  a  mod- 
ified form.1 

The  outcome  of  negotiations  between  represent- 
atives of  Church  and  of  State  was  the  Concordat 
of  Leith  early  in  1 5  7  2  :  an  agreement  between  the 
Privy  Council,  whose  action  was  confirmed  by  the 
ensuing  Parliament,  and  an  ecclesiastical  Conven- 
tion, whose  proceedings  were  ratified  by  a  subse- 
quent General  Assembly.  The  main  provision  of 
this  Concordat  was  the  restoration  (at  least  until 
the  King  should  reach  his  majority)  of  the  offices, 
dioceses,  and  emoluments  of  bishop  and  arch- 
bishop, with  the  important  proviso  that  the 
members  of  this  revived  episcopate  should  be 
subordinate,  spiritually,  to  the  General  Assembly 
as  the  supreme  depositary  of  ecclesiastical  juris- 
diction. The  Concordat  was  ratified  in  August, 
1572,  by  the  Assembly  at  Perth,  in  terms  which 

1  Cook,  Hist,  of  the  Ch.,  i.(  163-173. 
23 


354  John  Knox  [i568- 

indicate  that  the  Church  regarded  the  episcopate, 
not  as  ecclesiastically  indispensable,  or  even  as 
theoretically  desirable,  but  as,  on  the  whole,  in 
existing  circumstances,  an  expedient  "interim" 
arrangement  "until  further  and  more  perfect 
order  be  obtained."  x 

VI.  What  was  Knox's  attitude  towards  the 
Concordat  and  the  policy  which  it  embodied? 
He  was  present  neither  at  the  Leith  Conven- 
tion nor  at  the  Perth  Assembly:  but  from  his 
watch-tower  at  St.  Andrews  he  was  an  inter- 
ested onlooker ;  his  mind  and  pen  were  occupied 
with  the  question,  and  an  opportunity  occurred 
of  giving  his  practical  testimony.  The  Reformer 
made  no  protest  against  episcopacy  in  itself.  For 
five  years  he  had  ministered  in  the  episcopal 
Church  of  England ;  and  he  had  never,  in  subse- 
quent days,  condemned  the  office  of  bishop,  under 
proper  conditions,  as  unscriptural.  There  is  no 
recognition  of  the  Presbytery  in  the  Book  of 
Discipline  as  an  ecclesiastical  court ;  and  the  insti- 
tution of  the  superintendentship  implies  the  law- 
fulness of  one  minister  being  set  over  others.  With 
Knox,  apparently,  it  was  a  secondary  matter 
whether  the  subordinate  executive  of  the  Church 
were  vested  in  presbyter  or  in  bishop,  so  long  as 
the  supreme  jurisdiction  remained  in  the  hands 
of  a  non-hierarchical  General  Assembly  composed 
of  laymen  as  well  as  clergy.     In  a  communication, 


i  Calderw.,  iii.,  168-172. 


1572]  Declining  Years  355 

accordingly,  addressed  to  the  Perth  Assembly  in 
August,  1572,  he  assumes,  without  protest,  that 
the  procedure  of  the  Leith  Convention  will  be 
confirmed.1  Nevertheless,  he  had  grave  misgiv- 
ings as  to  the  outcome  of  the  Concordat,  withheld 
from  it  any  positive  approval,  and  warned  the 
Church  of  the  ecclesiastical  abuses  to  which  it 
might  lead.  Beza  appears  to  have  been  consulted 
by  him  on  the  subject;  for  in  April  Knox  re- 
ceived a  strongly  worded  letter  from  that  Re- 
former, declaring  that  ''bishops  brought  forth  the 
papacy,"  and  warning  his  friend  not  "to  admit 
again  that  plague  in  Scotland."  2 

Early  in  February  the  Earl  of  Morton  had 
nominated  John  Douglas,  Rector  of  St.  Andrews 
University,  to  the  archbishopric— prematurely, 
for  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  had  not  yet 
been  ratified  either  by  Parliament  or  by  General 
Assembly.  Apart  from  this  irregularity,  it  was 
generally  believed  that  a  simoniacal  compact  as 
to  the  emoluments  had  been  made  between  the 
Earl  and  the  episcopal  presentee.  Knox  declined 
to  take  part  in  the  ceremonial  of  installation,  al- 
though he  preached  in  Morton's  presence  the  ser- 
mon which  preceded  it.3  His  feeling  towards 
Douglas  was  chiefly  one  of  ' '  pity ' ' ;  the  new  dig- 
nity, he  declared,  "will  wrack  him  and  disgrace 

1  Letter  of  Knox  to  Perth  Assembly,  with  Articles,  in 
Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  619-621. 

2  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  614. 

3  Bannatyne,  Mem.,  p.  223. 


356  John  Knox  [iS68- 

him."  T  None  the  less  (if  Calderwood's  testimony 
can  be  trusted),  Knox,  in  ''open  audience  of  many 
denounced  anathema  to  the  giver,  anathema  to 
the  receiver."  2  At  a  meeting  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, held  in  March  at  St.  Andrews  (probably 
for  the  Reformer's  convenience),  "he  opposed 
himself" — so  James  Melville  reports  a — "directly 
and  zealously  "  to  the  making  of  bishops  after  the 
manner,  at  least,  of  the  recent  appointment;  and 
in  his  communication  to  the  Perth  Assembly  in 
August,  when  the  question  was  formally  discussed 
and  determined,  he  urged  strongly  the  adoption 
of  certain  provisions  (in  addition  to  the  safeguard 
of  the  bishops  being  subordinate  to  the  General 
Assembly)  in  order  to  avoid  ecclesiastical  abuses. 
The  main  objects  of  Knox  were,  on  the  one  hand, 
to  prevent  prolonged  vacancies,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  laymen  or  otherwise  unqualified  persons 
to  bishoprics;  on  the  other  hand  to  "ordain  all 
bishops  to  give  account  of  their  whole  rents  and 
intromissions  therewith  once  in  the  year."  4  The 
last  provision  was  designed  to  protect  ecclesiasti- 
cal property  from  simoniacal  alienation  by  sub- 
servient bishops  and  "greedy  patrons."  The 
Assembly  pronounced  Knox's  safeguards  to  be 
"both  reasonable  and  godly."  "We  have  taken 
like  order  as  we  could,"  they  declare,  "for  the 

1  Melville,  Diary,  p.  31. 

2  Calderw.,  H.  of  R.,  iii.,  206. 

3  Melville,  Diary,  p.  31. 

4  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  620,  621. 


1572]  Declining  Years  357 

furtherance  thereof";  and  in  subsequent  years 
we  read  of  bishops  undergoing  trial  by  the 
General  Assembly  for  "simoniacal  paction"  and 
dilapidation  of  patrimony. ' '  J  But  these  ecclesi- 
astical trials  do  not  appear  to  have  been  effective ; 
and  the  popular  nickname  of  "tulchan"  bishops, 
during  this  period,  was  fully  justified.  ''For  the 
Lords  got  the  benefices,  presented  such  a  man  as 
would  be  content  with  the  least  commodity,  and 
set  the  rest  in  feus,  tacks,  and  pensions  to  them 
or  theirs."  2  The  bon-mot  of  Patrick  Adamson,  of 
St.  Leonard's  College,  on  the  occasion  of  the  in- 
stallation of  Archbishop  Douglas,  was  none  the 
less  witty  and  trenchant  because,  by  a  grim  irony 
of  history,  Adamson  himself  eventually  became 
"tulchan"  Primate. 

"There  are  three  sorts  of  bishops,"  he  is  reported 
to  have  said,  "the  Lord's  bishop,  my  lord  bishop, 
and  my  lord's  bishop.  'The  Lord's  bishop'  is  the 
true  minister  of  the  Gospel ;  '  my  lord  bishop '  was  in 
the  time  of  the  papistry;  'my  lord's  bishop'  is  now, 
when  my  lord  getteth  the  benefice,  and  the  bishop 
serveth  for  a  portion  out  of  the  benefice,  to  make  my 
lord's  title  sure."  3 


1  Calderw.,  iii.,  330,  347,  361. 

2  Ibid.,  iii.,  208.  The  tulchan  was  a  stuffed  calfskin 
placed  before  a  cow  in  order  to  induce  her  to  give  milk  more 
readily.  The  tulchan  bishop  facilitated  the  process  of  drawing 
ecclesiastical  revenues,  of  which  much  the  greater  part,  by 
a  private  compact,  was  appropriated  by  the  lay  patron. 

3  Ibid.,  iii.,  206. 


358  John  Knox  [1568-1572] 

ADDITIONAL  NOTE  TO  CHAPTER  XIII 

Catholic  Calumniators  of  Knox 

Archibald  Hamilton  (De  Confus.  Calv.  Sect.,  1577; 
Demonstration  1581),  James  Laing  {De  Vita  et  Moribus 
Heret.,  1581),  and  Nicol  Burne  (Disputation,  1581), 
after  waiting  till  Knox  was  dead,  accused  him  of 
numerous  gross  immoralities,  including  repeated 
adultery  and  incest.  The  vileness  of  the  charges  and 
the  virulence  of  the  writers  deprive  them  of  credi- 
bility in  the  absence  of  any  real  evidence.  A  fourth 
detractor,  Alexander  Bail  lie  (in  his  True  Information, 
1628),  represents  Knox  as  defending  incestuous 
adultery.  Similar  charges,  without  substantial  found- 
ation, were  brought  against  Luther,  Calvin,  Beza, 
and  other  Reformers,  by  Laing,  Bolzec,  and  others. 
The  calumnies  against  Knox  appear  to  have  taken 
their  rise  from:  (1)  the  ill-natured  reflections  of  some 
Catholic  members  of  the  Bowes  family  on  Knox's 
pastoral  intimacy  (of  which  they  disapproved)  with 
his  future  mother-in-law  (see  p.  103)  ;  (2)  a  vile  ac- 
cusation made  against  Knox  in  1563,  by  one  Euphe- 
mia  Dundas.  From  the  Town  Council  Records  of 
Edinburgh,  for  18th  June  of  that  year,  it  appears  that 
this  woman,  on  being  cited  to  give  evidence,  took 
refuge  in  a  denial  that  she  had  said  what  was  at- 
tributed to  her.  Hamilton's  earlier  work  was 
answered  by  Principal  Smeton  of  Glasgow,  in  his  Ad 
Viridentum  Archib.  Ham.  Dial.  Responsio,  1579.  See 
Notes  F  F  F  and  G  G  G  in  McCrie,  Life  of  John 
Knox, 


CHAPTER  XIV 

KNOX'S   LAST  DAYS— HIS  DEATH — CHARACTER  AND 
INFLUENCE 

1572 

EARLY  in  August,  1572,  commissioners  arrived 
at  St.  Andrews  from  Knox's  congregation  in 
Edinburgh.  They  brought  a  letter  to  the  Re- 
former, craving  his  return  to  the  city  and  to  his 
ministry.  A  truce  had  been  arranged  in  the  end 
of  July  between  the  Regent's  party  and  the 
Queen's  faction,  whose  conflicts  in  the  capital  had 
led  to  Knox's  departure  in  the  previous  year.  He 
would  no  longer  be  exposed  either  to  peril  of  life 
or  to  interference  in  work.  A  coolness,  moreover, 
between  Craig  and  the  congregation,  arising  out 
of  the  former's  too  friendly  relations  (as  was 
thought)  with  the  garrison  of  the  Castle,  had 
resulted  in  his  translation  from  St.  Giles'  to 
Montrose.  In  their  '"destitution"  accordingly, 
the  brethren  desired  "most  earnestly"  that  if 
Knox's  "person  might  sustain  travel,  his  voice 
might  once  again  be  heard  among  them."  L 

Knox  agreed  to  return  to  Edinburgh  on  the 

1  Bannat.,  Mem.,  p.  254. 

359 


360  John  Knox  [i572] 

characteristic  condition  that  he  should  not  be  ex- 
pected "in  any  sort  to  temper  his  tongue,  or  cease 
to  speak  against  the  treasonable  dealings  of  the 
Castle."  He  left  St.  Andrews  on  the  17th  Au- 
gust, "not  without  dolour  of  the  godly  in  that 
town,  but  to  the  great  joy  of  the  rest,"  especially 
of  the  "  Hamiltons  and  their  faction,"  who  smarted 
under  his  invectives  for  ' '  their  murder  of  the  Re- 
gent." On  the  23rd  of  the  month  he  reached 
Leith  by  boat ;  on  the  following  Sunday  he  occu- 
pied once  more  his  pulpit  in  St.  Giles'.  His  voice, 
however,  proved  to  be  now  too  weak  "  to  be  heard 
of  the  whole  multitude  that  convened ' ' ;  and  he 
preached  thenceforth  in  what  was  called  the  Tol- 
booth— a  portion  of  the  nave  of  the  cathedral 
curtained  off  from  the  rest  of  the  building,  and 
otherwise  used  for  Council  meetings.  Meanwhile 
steps  had  been  taken  to  secure  a  new  colleague  for 
the  Reformer,  and  his  own  choice,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  congregation,  had  fallen  upon  James  Law- 
son,  sub-Principal  of  Aberdeen  University.  "  Be- 
loved brother, ' ' — so  Knox  wrote  to  him  on  the 
7th  of  September, — "seeing  .  .  .  that  I  look 
not  for  a  long  continuance  of  my  battle,  I  would 
gladly  discharge  my  conscience  into  your  bosom" ; 
and  the  touching  postcript  is  added,  "Haste,  lest 
ye  come  too  late."  The  summons  met  with  no 
tardy  response :  within  nine  days  Lawson  arrived.2 


1  Bannat.,  Mem.,  p.  255. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  263,  264;  Cameron  Lees,  St.  Giles',  p.  157. 


[1572]  Last  Days  361 

II.  Knox,  however,  was  not  the  man  to  dis- 
continue prematurely  his  pulpit  ministry  because 
relief  was  now  within  reach.  The  English  Am- 
bassador, Henry  Killigrew,  records  on  the  6th  of 
October  that  the  Reformer,  although  "now  so 
feeble  as  scarce  can  he  stand  alone,  yet  doth  he 
every  Sunday  cause  himself  to  be  carried"  to  the 
church,  "  and  preacheth  with  the  same  vehemence 
and  zeal  that  ever  he  did."  *  Two  memorable 
pulpit  functions  were  yet  to  be  discharged  before 
the  voice  which  had  stirred  thousands  of  hearers 
was  stilled.  The  first  occasion  was  when  tidings 
reached  Scotland  of  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew. That  massacre  had  begun  on  the 
24th  of  August;  but  a  declaration  had  been  is- 
sued, in  the  name  of  the  King  of  France,  to  the 
effect  that  the  slaughter  of  Huguenots  had  been 
accomplished  in  order  to  "prevent  the  execution 
of  a  detestable  conspiracy";  and  some  weeks 
elapsed  before  reliable  reports  of  the  nature  and 
magnitude  of  the  carnage  reached  Edinburgh. 
When  at  length  the  truth  became  known,  Church 
and  State  in  Scotland  joined  in  the  reprobation 
of  the  bloody  crime,  which  was  widely  expected 
to  inaugurate  a  general  uprising  of  Catholics 
against  Protestants  throughout  Christendom.  The 
Privy  Council  summoned  a  national  convention 
on  the  3rd  of  October  to  devise  means  of  ' '  defence 
from  the  furious  rage  of  the  bloody  papists." 

1  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  633. 


362  John  Knox  [1572] 

The  General  Assembly  responded  with  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  "  public  humiliation,"  and  with 
a  demand  that  the  Acts  of  Parliament  against 
' '  Papists ' '  be  put  in  force.  The  ministers  of  Edin- 
burgh "did  most  vehemently  inveigh  against  this 
most  beastly  and  more  than  treasonable  fact." 
Knox,  feeble  in  body  but  strong  in  spirit,  hurled 
his  anathema  from  the  pulpit  in  the  white  heat 
of  righteous  indignation;  and  "bade  declare  to 
the  French  Ambassador  to  tell  his  master,  that 
murderer  the  King  of  France,  that  God's  venge- 
ance shall  not  depart  from  him,  nor  from  his 
house,  and  that  none  who  come  from  his  loins 
shall  enjoy  that  kingdom  in  peace,  unless  re- 
pentance prevent  God's  judgments."  * 

The  other  and  last  notable  appearance  of  Knox 
in  the  pulpit  was  on  the  9th  of  November,  when 
Lawson  was  formally  inducted  in  St.  Giles'  as  his 
colleague  and  successor.  The  Reformer  himself 
conducted  the  service,  and  "made  the  marriage, 
in  a  manner" — to  use  Bannatyne's  words — "be- 
tween Mr.  James  Lawson  and  the  folk."  "He 
declared  to  the  whole  assembly  the  duty  of  a 
minister,  and  also  their  duty  to  him";  "praised 
God,"  who  had  given  to  the  congregation  one  in 
his  own  room;  and  prayed  fervently  that  any 
gifts  which  he  (Knox)  had  possessed  might  be 
bestowed  on  his  successor  "a  thousand  fold." 
But  his  "weak  voice  was  heard"  only  by  "a 

1  Bannat.,  pp.  271-273,  276. 


[1572]  Last  Days  363 

few ' ' ;  and  he  went  home  that  day  leaning  on  his 
staff  and  attended  by  his  flock,  from  pulpit  to 
death-bed.1 

III.  The  details  of  the  last  fortnight  of  Knox's 
life  have  been  graphically  recorded  by  his  devoted 
secretary,  Richard  Bannatyne,  and  have  also  been 
described  by  another  witness,  "who  sat  by  Knox 
during  his  sickness  until  his  latest  breath."  2  On 
the  Tuesday  after  Lawson's  induction,  the  Re- 
former's mortal  illness  began.  He  "was  stricken 
with  a  great  hoast,"  which  so  enfeebled  him  that 
by  Thursday  he  was  obliged  to  discontinue  his 
"ordinary  reading  of  the  Bible."  Thenceforth  he 
listened  while  his  wife  or  his  secretary  read  to  him 
daily  portions  selected  by  himself,  including  the 
53rd  chapter  of  Isaiah,  the  17th  of  St.  John,  and 
some  portion  of  the  Book  of  Psalms.  On  that 
Thursday  he  felt  that  his  end  was  approaching; 


1  Bannat.,  280-281;  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  648,  654.  See 
Additional  Note  to  this  Chapter,  on  "John  Knox's  House." 

2  Bannat.,  Mem.,  pp.  281-289,  also  the  anonymous  Ex- 
imii  Viri  J.  K.  vera  extremes  vitce  et  obitus  Historia,  ap- 
pended to  Sme ton's  Reply  to  Archib.  Hamilton's  De  Conf. 
Calv.  Sect.,  and  included  in  Laing,  vi.,  649-660  (translated). 
Calderwood  ascribed  it  to  Smeton  himself  (iii.,  238);  but 
Laing  attributes  its  composition,  with  greater  probability  to 
Lawson  (Laing,  vi.,  648).  Where  the  two  accounts  differ 
(as  to  minor  details)  Bannatyne  has  been  followed.  The 
simplicity  of  the  latter's  work,  and  its  apparent  composition 
in  the  form  of  a  diary,  commend  it  as  more  likely  to  be  ac- 
curate in  details  than  the  rather  verbose  narrative  in  Latin 
of  the  anonymous  writer. 


364  John  Knox  [i572] 

for  when  he  was  paying  Martinmas  wages  to  his 
servant,  James  Campbell,  he  added  twenty  shil- 
lings to  the  usual  amount,  saying,  "Thou  wilt 
never  get  more  of  me  in  this  life."  On  Friday 
his  mind  was  sometimes  confused :  for  he  "thought 
it  was  Sunday,"  and  insisted  on  rising  to  "go  to 
the  kirk  and  preach,"  he  said,  "upon  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ,"  in  continuation  of  a  sermon  on 
Christ's  death  delivered  on  the  previous  Lord's 
Day.  On  the  Saturday  two  friends  came  to  see 
him — Archibald  Stewart,  and  John  Durie,  ex- 
horter  at  Leith.  He  made  an  effort  to  "come  to 
the  [dinner]  table,  which  was  the  last  time  that 
ever  he  sat  at  any";  and  one  realises  how  far 
this  "  chief  priest  of  Puritanism  "  was  from  gloomy 
asceticism,  when  we  read  how  he  "caused  pierce 
a  hogshead  of  wine"  for  the  use  of  his  guests, 
and  with  mingled  gravity  and  playfulness  bade 
"the  said  Archibald  send  for  the  same  so  long  as 
it  lasted,  for  he  [Knox]  would  never  tarry  until 
it  were  drunken."  x 

On  Monday,  the  1 7th,  he  summoned  to  his  bed- 
side the  elders  and  deacons  of  St.  Giles',  to  "bid 
them  his  last  good-night."  The  interview  recalls 
the  memorable  farewell  of  the  dying  Calvin  to  the 
dignitaries  of  Geneva  eight  years  before.  Amid 
repeated  acknowledgments  of  "  unworthiness  and 
vileness,"  he  declared  that  "  he  had  taught  nothing 

1  Bannat.,pp.  283,  285;  Vera  Historia,  in  Laing,  vi.,  654, 
655. 


[i572]  Last  Days  365 

but  true  and  sound  doctrine,  and  that  howsoever 
he  had  been  against  any  one,  it  was  never  for 
hatred  of  the  person,  but  for  discharge  of  his  con- 
science before  God."  He  had  "never  made  mer- 
chandise of  the  Word ;  in  respect  whereof  (albeit 
he  was  weak,  and  an  unworthy  creature,  and  a 
fearful  man)  he  feared  not  the  faces  of  men ' ' : 
"therefore  he  exhorted  them  [his  elders  and  dea- 
cons] to  stand  constant  unto  that  doctrine  which 
they  had  heard  of  his  mouth."  "  And  thou,  Law- 
son,"  he  added,  turning  to  his  colleague,  in  the 
spirit  of  St.  Paul  addressing  Timothy,  "fight 
the  good  fight  of  faith,  and  perform  the  work  of 
the  Lord  joyfully  and  resolutely. ' '  Shortly  before 
this  interview,  a  letter  had  been  read  to  him  from 
Maitland  to  the  Kirk  Session,  complaining  of  Knox 
having  slandered  him  as  "an  atheist  and  enemy 
to  all  religion,"  and  craving  redress.  Knox  was 
too  infirm  to  prepare  a  formal  answer:  but  he 
explained  to  the  brethren  that  he  had  charged 
Maitland  with  doing  "works"  which  were  a  "suf- 
ficient declaration  that  he  denied  that  there  was 
any  God  to  punish  wickedness" ;  referring  to  the 
ex-Secretary's  recent  maintenance  of  the, Queen's 
faction.  Yet  he  did  not  fail  to  remember  his 
fellow-Reformer  in  his  prayers;  although,  as  he 
sorrowfully  declared,  "he  had  no  warrant  that 
ever  he  [Maitland]  would  be  well."  At  the  close 
of  the  meeting  Knox  commended  his  office-bearers 
solemnly  to  God;   and  after  the  "prayer  read  for 


366  John  Knox  [iS72] 

the  sick"  (from  his  own  Book  of  Common  Order) , 
"they  departed,"  we  are  told,  "in  tears."  l 

The  exertion  of  addressing  his  Kirk  Session  ag- 
gravated Knox's  malady.  "After  this  speaking 
he  was  the  worse";  and  he  "never  spake  almost 
but  with  great  pain";  yet,  with  a  brave  deter- 
mination to  "die  in  harness,"  he  continued  to  see 
any  friends  to  whom  "some  exhortation  and  ad- 
monition might  be  of  service."  Among  other 
visitors  was  Lord  Boyd,  who  had  joined  the  party 
of  the  deposed  Queen:  he . acknowledged  that  he 
had  ' '  offended ' '  Knox  ' '  in  many  things. ' '  "lam 
come  now,"  he  said,  "to  crave  your  pardon."  2 

Lawson,  his  colleague,  and  Lyndsay,  minis- 
ter of  Leith,  were  much  with  him  and  enjoyed 
his  full  confidence.  Robert  Campbell  of  Kin- 
yeancleuch,  a  staunch  adherent  of  long  stand- 
ing, received  from  the  dying  man  the  charge  of 
his  wife  and  children.  Specially  memorable  were 
Knox's  words  to  Morton,  whom,  as  head  of  the 
King's  party,  he  supported  but  did  not  love,  and 
his  farewell  message  to  Kirkcaldy,  the  leader  of 
the  Queen's  faction,  whom  he  loved  but  strenu- 
ously opposed.  Long  afterwards,  when  Morton 
was  about  to  be  executed,  nominally  for  alleged 
complicity  in  the  murder  of  Darnley,  he  told  the 
story  of  his  interview.     The  Reformer  pointedly 

1  Bannat.,  pp.  282-285;  Vera  Historia,  in  Laing,  vi.,  656; 
Calderw.,  iii.,  234. 

2  Bannat.,  p.  285. 


[1572]  Last  Days  367 

asked  the  statesman  whether  he  was  really  privy 
to  the  murder;  and  after  receiving  an  assurance 
to  the  contrary  he  charged  Morton,  who  was  on 
the  eve  of  becoming  Regent,  to  use  the  many 
benefits  which  he  had  received  from  Heaven, 
"first  to  God's  glory,  to  the  furtherance  of  the 
Evangel,  and  to  the  maintenance  of  the  Kirk  of 
God  and  His  ministry ;  next  for  the  welfare  of  the 
King's  realm  and  true  subjects."  "  If  so  ye  shall 
do,"  said  the  dying  man,  "God  shall  bless  you 
and  honour  you.  But  if  ye  do  it  not,  God  shall 
spoil  you  of  those  benefits,  and  your  end  shall  be 
ignominy."  Morton  neglected  the  counsel;  and, 
after  ten  years  of  power,  came  to  an  evil  end. 
Before  his  death,  amid  penitent  testimony,  he 
declared,  regarding  Knox's  forewarning,  "  I  have 
found  it  true."  * 

Kirkcaldy  was  at  the  time  in  the  Castle,  but 
kept  away  from  Knox:  the  Reformer,  however, 
was  mindful  of  his  former  friend.  "The  man's 
soul  is  dear  to  me,"  he  declared;  "I  would  not 
have  it  perish,  if  I  could  save  it."  He  was  "ear- 
nest with  God  anent"  him;  and  he  bade  Lawson 
and  Lyndsay  "go  tell  him,  in  my  name,  that  un- 
less he  is  yet  brought  to  repentance,  he  shall  die 
miserably";  that  he  "shall  be  hung  on  a  gallows 
in  the  face  of  the  sun,  unless  he  speedily  amend 
his  life,  and  flee  to  the  mercy  of  God."  2     The 


1  Calderw.,  iii.,  569. 

3  Vera  Historia,  Laing,  vi.,  657. 


368  John  Knox  [1572] 

Governor  was  then  under  Maitland's  baneful  in- 
fluence, and  the  message  at  the  time  was  fruitless ; 
yet  Knox,  after  earnest  intercession  on  Kirk- 
caldy's behalf,  declared,  "God  assureth  me  that 
there  is  mercy  for  his  soul."  This  assurance  of 
the  Reformer  was  afterwards  reported  to  Kirk- 
caldy and  moved  him  profoundly.  A  few  months 
later,  when  the  Castle  had  been  surrendered,  and 
when  the  ex-Governor,  as  Knox  had  foretold,  was 
led  out  to  be  hanged,  he  confessed  to  David  Lynd- 
say  that  he  now  perceived  well  that  Knox  was 
the  Lord's  "true  servant";  and  the  memory  of 
the  past  encouraged  him  to  meet  his  doom  not 
with  despair,  but  with  penitent  faith  and  hope  in 
the  divine  mercy,  "  according  to  the  speech  of  that 
man  of  God."  l 

Illustrations  have  been  given  of  the  relations 
of  mutual  sympathy  and  helpfulness  which  sub- 
sisted between  Knox  and  various  women.  We 
are  not  surprised  to  find  among  visitors  to  his 
death-bed  "several  pious  women  of  high  descent 
and  education."  One  of  these,  wishing  to  com- 
fort the  dying  Reformer,  "began  to  praise  him" 
for  the  great  work  which  he  had  accomplished. 
"  Tongue,  lady,  tongue,"  was  the  prompt  interrup- 
tion, "flesh  of  itself  is  over  proud,  and  needs  no 
means  to  esteem  itself."  2  "I  have  been  tempted 
of  Satan,"  he  said  to  another  friend ;  "  he  tempted 


1  Calderw.,  iii.,  234,  284. 

2  Bannat.,  286;    Vera  Historia,  Laing,  vi.,  658. 


[1572]  Last  Days  369 

me  to  trust  and  rejoice  in  myself ;  but  I  repulsed 
him  with  this  sentence,  'What  hast  thou  which 
thou  hast  not  received? '  '  Not  I,  but  the  grace  of 
God  in  me'" ;  and  he  protested  often  that  he  did 
"  only  claim  to  the  free  mercy  of  God  showed  to 
mankind  in  the  blood  of  his  dear  Son,  Jesus 
Christ."1 

On  Sunday  the  23rd  of  November,  the  day  be- 
fore he  died,  Knox  passed  the  time  chiefly  in  the 
"  delectable  land  "  of  silent  meditation ;  but  every 
now  and  then,  "when  he  would  be  lying  in  a 
sleep,"  writes  Bannatyne,  "he  burst  forth  in 
such  words  as  these :  '  Live  in  Christ,  and  let 
never  flesh  fear  death ' ;  '  I  have  been  in  heaven 
and  have  possession ' ;  'I  have  tasted  of  these 
heavenly  joys  where  presently  I  am.'  "  To  the 
last,  however,  the  care  of  Church  and  country 
rested  on  his  spirit. 

"I  have  been  in  meditation  of  the  troubled  Kirk 
of  God,  the  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ.  ...  I  have 
called  to  God  for  her,  and  I  have  committed  her  to 
her  Head,  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  .  Lord  grant  true  pas- 
tors to  Thy  Kirk,  that  purity  of  doctrine  may  be 
retained;  and  restore  again  peace  to  this  common- 
wealth, with  godly  rulers  and  magistrates. 
Come,  Lord  Jesus,  into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my 
spirit."  2 

On  the  following  day — his  last  upon  earth — he 

1  Bannat.,  p.  288;  Laing,  vi.,  660. 

2  Bannat.,  p.  287;    Laing,  vi.,  658. 


37°  John  Knox  [i572] 

sat  in  his  chair  for  half  an  hour  in  the  forenoon, 
but  the  end  was  visibly  drawing  near.  There  were 
present  in  his  chamber  only  a  little  company,  in- 
cluding his  wife  and  his  physician,  Dr.  Preston; 
his  secretary,  Bannatyne,  and  his  old  friend, 
Campbell  of  Kinyeancleuch ;  probably,  also,  his 
colleague  Lawson.  In  the  afternoon  he  asked 
the  15th  of  1  Corinthians  to  be  read.  "Is 
not  that  a  comfortable  chapter?  "  he  declared. 
By  and  by  came  a  request  to  his  wife,  "Read 
where  I  cast  my  first  anchor."  Mrs.  Knox 
understood  well  what  he  meant:  it  was  his 
favourite  17th  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John, 
to  which  he  appears  to  have  ascribed  his  earliest 
realisation  of  the  Christian  hope.  Between  seven 
and  ten  o'clock  he  lay,  for  the  most  part,  still. 
Thereafter  the  group  of  watchers  "went  to  or- 
dinary prayers. ' '  ' '  Heard  ye  the  prayers  ? ' '  whis- 
pered Preston  to  his  patient.  To  the  dying  man 
the  gate  of  Heaven  appeared  to  have  been  already 
opened,  and  the  sounds  of  earthly  devotion  had 
been  transmuted  into  celestial  voices.  "I  would 
to  God  that  ye  and  all  men  heard  them  as  I  have 
heard  them.  I  praise  God  of  that  heavenly 
sound."  "  Now  it  is  come,"  he  added  soon  after- 
wards. These  were  his  last  words;  but  when 
asked  to  make  some  sign  that  he  "remembered 
upon  the  comfortable  promises  which  he  had 
taught  to  others,"  he  raised  his  hand  as  if  in  re- 
sponse to  the  appeal.     "Incontinent  thereafter, 


[1572]  Last  Days  371 

he  rendered  the  spirit,  and  slept  away  without  any 
pain."  l 

The  Reformer  was  buried  on  the  following 
Wednesday,  26th  November,  in  what  was  then  the 
churchyard  of  St.  Giles',  at  or  near  the  spot  after- 
wards indicated  by  his  initials  between  the  church 
and  Parliament  House.  The  concourse  of  people 
who  followed  his  remains  to  their  resting-place 
was  preceded  by  a  procession  of  nobility  headed 
by  Morton,  who  had  been  appointed  Regent  on 
the  very  day  of  Knox's  death.  "  He  was  con- 
veyed," writes  Bannatyne,  ''with  many  a  soreful 
heart."  In  his  contemporary  diary,  James  Mel- 
ville records  that  after  Knox's  death  the  Regent 
'gave  him  an  honourable  testimony  that  he  neither 
feared  nor  flattered  any  flesh;  and  when  the 
remains  had  been  laid  in  the  grave  "without  ex- 
ternal ceremony,"  doubtless,  as  the  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline enjoined,  but  not  without  many  a  heart 
being  uplifted  in  silent  invocation,  Morton  re- 
peated his  disinterested  witness  in  the  often- 
quoted  words,  "Here  lieth  a  man  who  in  his  life 
never  feared  the  face  of  man."  2 

IV.  The  leading  features  of  Knox's  character 
reveal  themselves  prominently  in  the  story  of  his 
life. 

1.    Morton's  panegyric  at  his  grave  indicates 


1  Bannat.,  288,  289. 

2  Melville,  Diary,  60;    Bannat.,  290;    Vera  Historia,  Laing, 
vi.,  660;  Calderw.,  iii.,  242. 


372  John  Knox  [1572] 

what  most  impressed  his  contemporaries.  The 
man  who  began  his  career  as  a  Reformer  by  stand- 
ing, sword  in  hand,  beside  his  "Master  Wishart" 
amid  peril,  and  accepted  afterwards  the  pastorate 
of  a  besieged  congregation  which  included  Wish- 
art's  avengers;  the  man  who  denounced  before 
King  Edward's  Court  the  intrigues  of  royal  coun- 
cillors; who  taught  publicly,  for  several  months, 
Reformed  doctrine  under  Mary  Tudor,  and  who 
preached  to  the  Protestants  of  Dieppe,  not  as 
they  had  been  preached  to  before  under  the  veil 
of  night,  but  in  the  light  of  day;  the  man  who, 
in  1556,  boldly  faced  the  prosecution  of  the  Scot- 
tish hierarchy;  who  hastened,  on  his  return  to 
Scotland  in  1559,  to  the  "brunt  of  the  battle"  in 
support  of  his  fellow-preachers;  and  who  him- 
self entered  the  pulpits  of  Perth,  St.  Andrews, 
and  Edinburgh,  in  defiance  of  interdicts  from  the 
heads  of  Church  and  State;  the  man  who,  in  the 
days  of  Mary  Stuart's  power,  told  her  plainly  that 
when  princes  "exceed  their  bounds"  they  are  to 
be  resisted  by  force,  and  who  denounced  publicly 
not  only  "pestilent  Papists  "  but  unfaithful  Pro- 
testants who  pandered  to  the  Queen,  plundered 
the  Church,  or  betrayed  the  cause — such  a  man 
certainly  merited  a  testimony  to  his  fearlessness 
from  one  who  himself  had  recently  endured  the 
Reformer's  anathema. 

2.    Beneath  Knox's  courage  towards  men  was 
his  steadfast  faith  in  God,  in  his  own  call  to  be 


[i572]  Last  Days  373 

God's  servant,  and  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of 
what  he  firmly  believed  to  be  the  divine  cause. 
He  had,  like  other  men,  indeed,  hours  of  depres- 
sion, but  none  of  complete  despair ;  and  his  pre- 
vailing mood  was  devout  and  heroic  confidence; 
confidence  not  only  in  God  but  in  himself,  yet  in 
himself  only  as  an  instrument  in  the  divine  hands ; 
for  he  repelled  all  self-complacent  thoughts  as 
temptations  of  the  devil.1  The  ground  of  his  self- 
reliance  was  the  conviction  that  the  mind  of  God 
had  been  revealed  to  him;  that  he  was  a  man 
with  a  mission  which  he  dared  not  neglect,  and 
with  a  message  which  he  dared  not  withhold. 
His  memorable  utterance  at  his  trial  in  1563, 
has  been  accepted  by  posterity  as  the  motto  of  his 
life:  "  I  am  demanded  of  conscience  to  speak  the 
truth ;  and  therefore  the  truth  I  speak,  impugn  it 
who  so  list."  2  With  this  confidence  in  God  and 
in  himself  as  God's  prophet,  he  was  able  himself 
to  rise  above  the  anxiety  caused  by  temporary 
disaster,  and  also  to  impart  somewhat  of  his  own 
faith  to  others.  The  galley-man  knew  that  he 
would  again  preach  God's  truth  in  St.  Andrews; 
the  exile  on  the  Continent  inspired  his  brethren 
at  home  with  the  trust  in  God  and  zeal  for  truth 
which  produced  the  First  Covenant :  the  defeated 
and  depressed  host  of  Protestants  who  retired 
from  Edinburgh  to  Stirling  in  the  autumn  of  1559 

1  See  p.  368. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  408. 


374  John  Knox  [i572] 

were  raised  to  fresh  hope  and  effort  by  his  assur- 
ance that  God  was  on  their  side ;  and  in  the  dark 
days  of  the  Roman  reaction  under  Mary,  amid 
"the  miserable  dispersion  of  God's  people,"  he 
was  able  to  recall  for  his  own  and  others'  comfort 
the  divine  promise,  "They  that  wait  on  the  Lord 
shall  renew  their  strength."  T 

3.  The  very  strength  of  Knox's  faith  in  the 
Reformation  movement  as  the  cause  of  God  im- 
bued him  with  an  intolerance  towards  Romanists, 
as  well  as  towards  Romanism,  with  which  it  is 
impossible  for  us,  amid  altered  circumstances, 
to  sympathise,  and  in  which  many  even  of  his 
Protestant  contemporaries  did  not  share.  For  his 
uncharitable  judgments,  on  some  occasions,  re- 
garding the  actions  and  motives  of  opponents 
the  best  apology  is  that  when  a  man  is  fighting 
for  what  is  dearer  than  life  it  is  not  easy  for 
him  to  keep  his  brain  cool.  His  condonation 
of  Beaton's  and  of  Rizzio's  assassinations,  how- 
ever unjustifiable,  had  as  its  foundation  the  firm 
belief  that  these  men  were  enemies  of  God  and 
of  the  people,  enemies  whom  "the  powers  that 
be"  persisted  in  supporting.  Regarding  his  in- 
tolerance of  the  "Papistry,"  we  must  remember 
the  great  difference  between  the  Roman  Church  of 
Scotland  in  the  sixteenth  century  and  the  same 
Church  in  the  twentieth.  In  the  eyes  of  Knox, 
Romanism   was  the   incurable  embodiment   not 


1  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  263. 


ti572]  Last  Days  375 

only  of  idolatry  and  superstition,  but  of  shame- 
less immorality.  The  Church  had  for  him  become 
the  "Synagogue  of  Satan";  and  the  testimony, 
previously  adduced,  of  contemporary  Romanists, 
like  Ninian  Winzet,  shows  the  foundation  on 
which  the  belief  was  based.  Moreover,  Knox's 
intolerant  zeal  was  kindled  and  sustained  by  the 
fear  that  tolerance  of  Romanism  would  issue  in 
the  reascendency  of  Rome.  The  event  proved 
that  his  anxiety  was  far  from  needless ;  for,  as  we 
have  seen,  humanly  speaking,  during  the  critical 
years  1565-66,  it  was,  in  great  measure,  Mary's 
unforeseen  folly  that  saved  the  Reformed  Church. 
Had  the  government  of  the  country  in  the  six- 
teenth century  been  in  the  hands  of  representa- 
tives of  the  people,  Knox  could  have  afforded  to 
be  tolerant.  But  with  a  Catholic  Queen  on  the 
throne,  with  a  considerable  portion  of  the  nobility 
and  people  still  Romanist  in  sympathy,  and  with 
France  and  Spain  ready  to  embrace  any  favour- 
able opportunity  of  intervention,  there  seemed  to 
be  no  effective  security  against  the  restoration  of 
Romanism  except  its  legal  suppression. 

4.  Knox  was  undoubtedly  a  stern  man,  when 
conscience  demanded  severity:  even  the  misfor- 
tunes of  the  Queen  of  Scots  did  not  prevent  him 
from  censuring  as  "foolish  pity"  the  omission  of 
Moray  to  bring  his  sister  to  trial  for  the  murder 
of  her  husband.  But  he  was  not  all  sternness. 
There  was  a  vein  of  tenderness  and  sympathy  in 


376  John  Knox  [1572] 

the  Reformer,  of  which  lifelong  conflict  did  not 
deprive  him.  One  catches  a  glimpse  of  his  do- 
mestic tenderness  in  the  almost  intolerable  pain 
which  he  felt  when  compelled  to  chastise  his  child- 
ren, and  in  his  pathetic  recall,  after  nearly  twelve 
years,  of  the  benediction  bequeathed  to  his  two 
sons  "by  their  dearest  mother  of  blessed  mem- 
ory." *  There  must  also  have  been  many  tokens 
of  sympathy,  and  some  amiable  features  of  char- 
acter in  a  man  who  was  repeatedly  called  in  to 
reconcile  husband  with  wife  and  friend  with 
friend 2 ;  whom  women  consulted  trustfully  in 
their  difficulties,  undeterred  by  the  severe  things 
he  had  spoken  of  their  sex  in  his  Monstrous  Regi- 
ment; and  whom  a  young  and  high-born  maiden 
accepted  as  a  husband  when  he  was  thrice  her 
age.  Even  in  Knox's  intercourse  with  Mary,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  uniform  hardness  of  attitude 
which  he  felt  constrained  to  adopt  is  tempered 
by  an  occasional  kindliness  not  to  be  repressed. 
Between  the  lines  of  his  letter  to  Moray,  when 
their  quarrel  took  place,  one  can  discern  the  yearn- 
ings of  a  wounded  yet  affectionate  spirit 3 ;  and 
the  solicitude  which  he  manifested  on  his  death- 
bed for  the  repentance  and  salvation  of  his  for- 
mer friend  but  eventual  antagonist,  Kirkcaldy,  is 
surpassed  by  nothing  in  Christian  biography. 


»  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  p.  lvi. 

2  Knox,  H.  of  R.,  ii.,  376,  324. 

3  Ibid.,  ii.,  382. 


[i572]  Last  Days  377 

5.  Knox's  unreserved  self -dedication — at  once 
devout  and  patriotic — to  the  Scottish  Reforma- 
tion stands  out  in  fine  relief,  as  compared  with  the 
self-seeking,  or  defective  patriotism,  which  charac- 
terised not  a  few  fellow-labourers  in  the  cause. 
Protestant  nobles  reaped  spoil  from  the  Church's 
patrimony;  Knox  lived  and  died  comparatively 
a  poor  man.1  He  never  made  "  merchandise  of 
the  Word."  Scottish  churchmen  with  Protest- 
ant convictions  left  Scotland  and  failed  to  return 
when  the  cause  of  Reform  had  need  of  them; 
Knox  was  always  in  his  own  land  when  his  pre- 
sence was  of  real  service;  even  in  exile  he  min- 
istered to  the  "  faithful"  at  home  through  epistles 
of  comfort  or  of  admonition ;  and  thrice  over  he  left 
the  quiet  haven  and  congenial  society  of  Geneva 
for  the  toil  and  conflict  of  a  ministry  in  his  native 
land.  His  incessant  labours  after  his  final  return 
to  Scotland,  notwithstanding  "a  weak  and  fra- 
gile body"2;  his  fearless  maintenance  of  divine 
truth,  by  voice  and  pen,  before  high  and  low; 
and  his  heroic  faith,  through  which  the  faith  of 
others  was  sustained,  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of 


1  See  his  Will.  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  p.  liii.  Apart  from 
over  800  pounds  Scots  due  to  Knox  chiefly  by  his  father-in- 
law,  the  Reformer's  "inventory"  after  death  amounted  to 
less  than  ioo  pounds  Scots;  and  this  sum  included  ioo 
merks  sterling  received  through  his  first  wife,  "  which  [he 
says]  I  of  my  poverty  extended  to  five  hundred  pounds 
Scots,  to  the  utility  and  profit  of  my  two  sons." 

2  Smeton,  Responsio,  p.  115. 


37%  John  Knox  [i577] 

what  he  believed  to  be  God's  cause — justify  the 
judgment  of  a  modern  English  historian,  that  "in 
the  entire  history  of  the  Reformation  in  this 
island  ...  no  grander  figure  can  be  found  than 
that  of  Knox."  l 

V.  The  influence  of  Knox  upon  Scotland  has 
been  signal  and  enduring.  His  assertion — bold  in 
that  age — of  the  lawfulness  of  opposing  and  even 
deposing  rulers  who  transgress  the  laws  or  op- 
press the  people,  fostered  among  his  countrymen 
that  opposition  to  royal  despotism  which  culmi- 
nated in  rebellion — rebellion  which  history  has 
vindicated  and  posterity  has  ratified.  To  Knox's 
ministry,  also,  was  largely  due  the  growth  of  an 
intelligent  and  earnest-minded  middle  class, 
whom  his  preaching  and  writings  educated  and 
enlightened ;  inspiring  them  with  strong  religious 
convictions,  and  imbuing  them  with  a  sense  of 
national  responsibility.  Under  his  training  the 
smaller  landowners,  along  with  the  merchants 
and  upper  tradesmen — the  most  loyal  and  zealous 
supporters  of  the  Reformation — began  to  occupy 
a  distinct  place  in  the  national  life  and  councils.2 

To  the  educational  sagacity  of  Knox  Scotland 
owes,  further,  in  great  measure,  that  parochial- 
school  organisation  which  during  subsequent  gen- 
erations, when  most  other  countries  lagged  behind 
in  this  regard,  provided  for  the  poorest  in  the 

1  Froude,  H.  of  E.,  x.,  193. 

2  Ibid.,  194. 


[i572]  Last  Days  379 

land  a  sound  religious  and  secular  education.  We 
have  only  now,  moreover,  begun  to  realise  some  of 
the  Reformer's  educational  ideals.1 

Knox  was  an  ardent  disciple  of  Calvin,  and  he 
propagated  in  Scotland  that  grand,  although  one- 
sided, recognition  of  the  absolute  sovereignty  of 
God,  which  is  the  chief  basis  of  Calvinism.  It 
was  the  realisation  of  this  great  truth  which  after- 
wards sustained  the  Scottish  Covenanters,  as  it 
had  already  upheld  the  Huguenots  of  France  and 
the  burghers  of  the  Netherlands,  in  protracted 
struggles  against  oppression.  For,  to  those  who 
lived  under  a  deep  and  devout  sense  of  the  Divine 
Sovereignty,  earthly  rulers  were  but  fellow- vas- 
sals, to  be  served  and  obeyed  only  in  so  far  as 
they  were  faithful  subjects  and  vicegerents  of  the 
King  of  kings.  It  was  a  moderate  Calvinism, 
however,  as  we  have  seen,  which  Knox  and  his  col- 
leagues formally  imposed,  by  authority  of  the 
Estates,  on  the  Scottish  Church,  through  the  origi- 
nal Reformed  Confession,  subsequently  displaced 
by  that  of  the  Westminster  divines.  The  older 
document  is  an  embodiment  of  the  more  flexible 
theology  which,  but  for  the  influence  of  English 
Puritanism,  might  have  characterised  the  Scottish 
Church  of  later  days.  It  remains  as  the  possible 
starting-point  from  which  a  less  rigid  standard 
of  doctrine  might  be  formulated  for  the  present 
time. 

1  See  p.  246. 


380  John  Knox  [1572] 

Scotland  owes  to  Knox  not  its  existing  Presby- 
terian government, — this  was  the  subsequent 
work  of  Andrew  Melville, — but  that  which  is  the 
chief  feature  and  main  strength  of  Presbyterian- 
ism,  viz.,  the  full  recognition  (lacking  in  Episco- 
pacy) of  the  Christian  laity  in  the  administration 
of  the  Church,  combined  with  that  orderly  sub- 
ordination (which  Congregationalism  fails  to  se- 
cure) of  the  whole  Church  to  one  representative 
and  supreme  authority.  It  is  owing  to  Knox  and 
his  fellow-Reformers  that  the  Scottish  Church 
avoids  the  danger  both  of  hierarchy  and  of  an- 
archy; all  its  courts  consisting  of  ministers  and 
laymen,  and  its  supreme  executive,  being  not  a 
court  of  clergy,  whether  bishops,  superintendents, 
or  moderators,  but  a  General  Assembly  of  or- 
dained ministers  associated  on  equal  terms  with 
lay  elders  representing  the  Christian  people. 
In  the  sphere  of  congregational  worship,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  in  one  important  particular 
Knox  has  impoverished  the  Scottish  Church.  In 
his  anxiety  to  escape  from  temporary  abuses,  he 
removed  from  Scottish  Christendom  what  it  is 
now  only  beginning  to  recover,  the  stated  and 
united  commemoration  of  the  fundamental  facts 
and  truths  of  Christianity, — a  commemoration 
which  is  at  once  helpful  to  the  Christian  life, 
and  a  wholesome  preservative  against  the  ob- 
scuration of  vital  Christian  doctrine,  or  its  su- 
persession with  a  cold  and  semi-pagan  morality. 


[iS73]  Last  Days  381 

Not  to  John  Knox,  however,  and  other  founders 
of  the  Reformed  Scottish  Church,  but  to  the  later 
Puritanism  of  the  seventeenth  century,  provoked 
by  the  offensive  ecclesiastical  policy  of  Charles  I., 
is  due  the  discontinuance  in  Presbyterian  churches 
of  that  happy  combination  of  ' '  Common  Prayer ' ' 
and  (within  certain  limits)  "Free  Prayer,"  which 
was  exemplified  in  the  Reformer's  Book  of  Common 
Order. 

2.  The  influence  of  Knox  has  notoriously  ex- 
tended to  other  countries  than  his  own:  to  Eng- 
land, to  Ireland,  and  to  all  those  lands,  within 
and  beyond  the  British  Empire,  which  Scotsmen 
have  helped  to  people.  The  English  and  Irish 
Presbyterian  Churches  claim  the  Scottish  Re- 
former as  their  virtual  founder ;  and  even  English 
Protestantism,  as  a  whole,  may  recognise  Knox 
as  in  some  measure,  at  a  critical  period,  its  pre- 
server. No  biassed  Scot,  but  the  English  his- 
torian, Froude,  has  declared  that  "but  for  Knox, 
Mary  Stuart  would  have  bent  Scotland  to  her 
purpose,  and  Scotland  would  have  been  the  lever 
with  which  France  and  Spain  would  have  worked 
upon  England"  until  Elizabeth  had  either  been 
"hurled  from  her  throne,"  or  been  constrained  to 
go  "back  into  the  Egypt "  of  Romanism.1  It  was 
the  descendants,  moreover,  of  men  taught  by 
Knox  to  withstand  "the  divine  right  of  kings  to 
do  wrong,"  who  set  the  example  to  England  of 

1  Froude,  H.  of  E.,  x.,  195. 


3%2  John  Knox  [iS72] 

effective  resistance  to  the  Stuarts — resistance 
issuing  eventually  in  the  establishment  of  a  con- 
stitutional monarchy.  "Thirty  thousand  armed 
Covenanters,  sitting  down  on  Duns  Law"  in 
1639,  became,  as  Carlyle  has  epigrammatically 
expressed  it,  "the  signal  for  all  England  rising 
up."1 

Nowhere  is  the  influence  of  Knox,  more  fully 
recognised  than  in  the  United  States  and  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada.  The  Scottish  Presbyterians 
whom  persecution  drove,  or  colonising  enterprise 
drew,  to  North  America  in  the  seventeenth  cent- 
ury, carried  with  them  the  sturdy  spirit  of  civil  and 
religious  independence  which  they  had  inherited 
from  Knox  and  his  successors;  and  the  Presby- 
terian churches  which  they  founded — comprising 
a  population  now  more  than  double  that  of  the 
Presbyterians  in  the  United  Kingdom— hold  the 
foremost  place  alike  in  the  past  historical  develop- 
ment and  in  the  present  theological  activity  of 
American  Christendom.2  In  the  political  sphere  it 
has  been  amply  attested  that  during  the  period  of 
struggle  which  issued  in  American  independence, 
the  earliest  and  most  strenuous  opponents  of 
British  despotism  were,  for  the  most  part,  de- 
scendants of  Scotsmen  bred  in  the  Church  which 


1  Inaugural  Address  to  the  Students  of  Edinburgh,  p.  63. 

2  Influence  of  the  Scottish  Church  in  Christendom  (by  the 
present  writer),  140-143,  261,  272;  Hodge,  Presbyter.  Ch.t 
i.,  214;  Webster,  Presbyter.  Ch.  in  Amer.,  66,  68. 


[i572]  Last  Days  383 

Knox  had  moulded.1  It  is  not  without  signifi- 
cance that  a  man  whom  Americans  have  specially 
honoured  as  a  foremost  champion  in  their  great 
national  conflict — John  Witherspoon,  President 
of  Princeton  College — belonged  to  a  family  which 
claimed  kinship  with  Knox.2  If,  in  the  year 
when  the  Reformer  and  his  work  are  specially 
commemorated,  America  is  taking  her  full  share 
in  the  veneration  of  his  memory,  this  is  not  merely 
because  she  recognises  him  as  one  of  the  "heroes 
of  the  Reformation,"  but  also  because  her  own 
free  institutions,  educational  achievements,  and 
religious  zeal  can  be  traced  in  great  measure, 
through  acknowledged  channels,,  to  influence  ex- 
erted by  John  Knox  on  Scottish  Christendom. 

ADDITIONAL  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  XIV 


Did  John  Knox  live  in  "John  Knox's  House"  ? 

Fully  eleven  years  of  Knox's  life,  after  his  final 
return  to  Scotland,  were  spent  in  Edinburgh;  but  for 
only  one  existing  building  in  the  city  is  the  claim 
made  that  it  was  (substantially)  a  house  in  which 
the  Reformer  lived.  This  is  the  well-known  house  in 
the  Netherbow,  near  the  junction  of  High  Street 
and  Canongate,  visited  every  year  by  thousands  of 


1  Inft.  of  Sc.  Ch.,  190,  282;  Hodge,  ii.,  398;  Briggs,  Amer. 
Presbyterianism,  347-351;  R.  E.  Thompson,  Presb.  Ch.  in 
U.  5.,  56,  57- 

2  Rogers,  Genealog.  Metnoirs  of  Knox,  pp.  162-164. 


384  John  Knox  [iS72] 

pilgrims  from  all  quarters  of  the  world.  The  house 
is  of  considerable  size,  having  four  storeys,  besides 
a  sunk  floor  and  a  garret.  The  outside  stair  is  a 
comparatively  modern  addition;  but  the  motto: 
"LVFE  •  GOD  ■  ABOVE  ■  AL  ■  AND  ■  YI  ■  NICHT- 
BOUR  •  AS  '  YI  '  SELF"  is  ancient.  On  the  first 
floor  above  the  ground  is  the  "Audience  Chamber." 
The  second  floor  contains  a  panelled  room  used  pre- 
sumably for  sitting  and  dining;  a  bedroom  in  which, 
according  to  tradition,  the  Reformer  died;  and  a 
small  apartment  formed  in  the  wooden  casing  of  the 
house,  and  supposed  to  be  his  study.  The  claim  of 
the  building  to  have  been  Knox's  home  was  discussed 
in  papers  read  before  the  Society  of  Scottish  Anti- 
quaries in  session,  1898-99  r  by  two  learned  members 
of  that  body,  the  late  Mr.  Robert  Miller,  Lord  Dean  of 
Guild,  who  regards  the  alleged  connexion  of  the  house 
with  Knox  as  legendary,  and  Mr.  Charles  Guthrie, 
Q.C.,  who  vindicates  its  claim  to  be  one  of  the  houses 
in  which  the  Reformer  lived.  The  case  for  and 
against  the  house  in  Netherbow  stands  thus: 

1.  It  was  certainly  not  the  abode  of  Knox,  during 
the  greater  part  of  his  Edinburgh  ministry,  (a) 
There  is  evidence  of  his  having  lived  in  another  house 
from  September,  1560  (soon  after  his  permanent 
location  in  Edinburgh),  until  September  1566,  and 
probably  until  later.2  This  house,  for  which  rent 
was  paid  to  Robert  Mowbray,  on  Knox's  behalf,  by 
the  City  Council,  up  to  the  latter  date,  was  situated 


1  Proceedings  of  Soc.  of  Ant.  of  Sc,  xxxiii. 

2  Robert  Miller,  John  Knox  and  the  Town  Council  of 
Edinburgh  (in  which  the  writer's  contributions  to  the  Society 
are  embodied,  with  additions),  p.  74. 


John  Knox's  House,"  High  Street,  Edinburgh. 


[is;*]  Last  Days  385 

near  the  top  of  Warriston's  Close  in  High  Street.  In 
the  seventeenth  century  a  new  tenement  was  erected 
on  the  site  which  is  now  occupied  by  the  City  Council 
Chambers;  while  the  ground,  attached  to  the  house 
as  a  garden  in  Knox's  time,  now  forms  part  of  the  site 
of  the  Cockburn  Hotel.1  It  was  in  this  house  that 
Marjorie  Bowes,  the  Reformer's  first  wife,  died,  near 
the  close  of  the  year  1560.  To  this  house,  also,  his 
second  wife,  Margaret  Stewart,  was  brought  home  in 
1564.  It  was  in  this  building  that  in  1561  the  Town 
Council  gave  orders  "with  all  diligence  to  make  a 
warm  study  of  deals  to  the  minister,  John  Knox, 
within  his  lodging  above  the  hall  of  the  same."  2  (6) 
There  is  evidence,  further,  that  in  1568  and  1569, 
Knox  occupied  a  house  belonging  to  one  "John 
Adamson  and  Bessie  Otterburn,  his  spouse,"  whom  a 
minute  of  Council,  in  Nov.,  1568,  ordained  to  "cause 
mend  and  repair  the  necessaries  of  John  Knox's 
dwelling-house."  There  is  evidence,  also,  of  rent 
having  been  paid  for  this  house  in  Nov.,  1569.  The 
property  may  have  been  any  one  of  three  buildings 
which  belonged  to  this  couple,  two  of  which  were  on 
sites  now  occupied  by  the  modern  St.  Giles'  Street; 
while  the  third  was  situated  on  the  north  side  of 
the  High  Street  opposite  the  corner  of  the  present 
Hunter  Square.3 

2.  It  is  probable,  in  the  absence  of  testimony  to 
the  contrary,  that  Knox  would  not  have  a  second 
flitting  prior  to  his  departure  from  Edinburgh,  in 
May,  1 57 1 ;  and  that  during  the  interval  of  a  year  and 

1  John  Knox  and  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh,  pp.  80-87. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  75. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  88-107. 


386  John  Knox  [1572] 

a  half  from  Nov.,  1569,  to  that  date,  he  remained  in 
the  house  repaired  for  his  benefit.  With  regard  to 
this  interval,  however,  and  also  to  the  three  months 
between  his  return  to  Edinburgh  in  August,  1572,  and 
his  death  in  November  of  that  year,  there  is  much 
uncertainty;  for  the  Treasurer's  accounts  show  a 
blank  during  the  period  1 567-1 581;  and  there  is  no 
record  of  any  meeting  of  Council  between  157 1  and 

I573-1 

3.     It    is    very    improbable    that    what    is    called 

"John  Knox's  house"  was  occupied  by  him  prior  to 
his  departure  from  Edinburgh  in  May,  1571.  That 
house,  as  it  is  now  admitted,  was  the  property  of 
James  Mosman,  goldsmith,  and  of  his  wife,  from  the 
year  1556  at  latest;  and  in  1568  it  was  conveyed  by 
them  to  their  son  John,  with  reversion  to  themselves 
of  life-rent.  In  Feb.,  1571,  however,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  father's  second  marriage,  he  bought  back  the 
fee  from  his  son,  and  infeffed  himself  and  his  second 
wife  in  the  house;  apparently  with  the  object  of 
preventing  her  from  being  obliged  to  leave  the  family 
abode  in  the  event  of  his  pre-decease.2  It  seems  all 
but  certain  that  after  this  re-infeftment  Mosman 
would  continue  to  occupy  the  house  during  the  three 
months  which  elapsed  prior  to  Knox's  departure  for 
St.  Andrews  in  May  of  the  same  year.  It  is  only 
reasonable  to  assume  that  Mosman  bought  back  the 
house  from  his  son  because  he  continued  to  need  it 
for  himself;  and  in  the  extant  deeds  connected  with 
the  property,  there  is  no  specification  of  the  house  as 


John  Knox  and  the  Toum  Council  of  Edinburgh,  p.  131. 
Ibid.,  pp.  137,  138. 


Room  supposed  to  have  been  Knox's  study  in  "John  Knox's  House," 
Edinburgh. 


[i 572]  Last  Days  387 

that  in  which  John  Knox  lived.     Such  specification 
was  a  common,  although  not  invariable  usage.1 

4.  There  remains  the  period  from  August,  1572, 
when  Knox  returned  to  Edinburgh,  until  his  death, 
in  November  of  that  year.  Did  he  re-occupy  during 
this  period  the  Adamsons'  house?  or  did  he  reside  in 
Mosman's  house  at  the  Netherbow?  or  did  he  live 
elsewhere?  Certainty  in  this  matter  appears,  mean- 
while, to  be  unattainable;  but  we  have  a  moderately 
old  tradition  in  favour  of  the  Netherbow  house  being 
for  some  time  occupied  by  Knox ;  and  this  seems  to  be 
the  only  possible  period.  In  1796,  the  Hon.  Mrs.  S. 
Murray  visited  Edinburgh.  She  describes  the  house 
in  the  Netherbow,  incidentally,  as  the  house  "whence 
Knox  thundered  his  addresses  to  the  people";  and 
she  writes,  not  as  if  asserting  a  fact  recently  dis- 
covered, but  rather  as  stating  what  was  generally 
accepted.2  Similarly,  in  a  work  published  in  1806,  the 
author  mentions,  not  in  a  controversial  way,  but 
assuming,  evidently,  that  no  one  would  contradict 
him,  that  "among  the  antiquities  of  Edinburgh  may 
be  mentioned  the  house  of  the  great  Scottish  Reformer, 
John  Knox.  It  stands,"  he  continues,  "on  the  north 
side  of  the  foot  of  High  Street,  projecting  into  the 
street."  3  The  tradition,  accordingly,  must  have 
been  already  of  pretty  long  standing  before  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  (a)  Is  there  anything 
which  renders  the  truth  of  the  tradition  improbable? 
(b)   Is  there  any  way  of  reasonably  accounting  for 

1  John  Knox  and  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh,  pp.  138-140. 

2  A  Companion  and  Useful  Guide  to  the  Beauties  of  Scotland, 
p.  117. 

3  Stark,  Picture  of  Edinburgh,  p.  102. 


388  John  Knox  [1572] 

the  existence  of  the  tradition  except  on  the  assump- 
tion of  its  being  true  ? 

(a)  We  have  seen  that  in  February,  1571,  Mosman 
intended  to  remain  in  the  house  and  to  secure  it  as  a 
home  for  his  widow.  But  the  times  were  troublous: 
the  population  of  Edinburgh  was  divided  into  two 
factions,  that  of  the  Queen  and  that  of  the  Regent. 
Mosman  was  a  keen  partisan  of  Mary.  It  is  known 
that  some  of  her  adherents  took  refuge  about  this 
time  in  the  Castle,  which  was  held  for  the  Queen  by 
Kirkcaldy,  and  that  at  some  date  prior  to  29th  of 
May  1573,  when  the  garrison  surrendered,  Mosman 
himself  was  received  within  its  walls.1  He  had  good 
reason  to  be  afraid;  for  when  the  Marian  party  had 
been  overcome  he  was  executed,  along  with  Kirk- 
caldy, as  a  traitor.  A  truce  for  two  months,  indeed, 
had  been  arranged  on  the  31st  of  July,  1572,  and  had 
afterwards  been  extended  to  the  close  of  the  year; 
but  a  goldsmith,  who  was  also  a  "rotten  Papist" 
and  a  keen  politician,  could  not  afford  to  run  the  risk 
of  molestation  and  even  spoliation  amid  civil  war; 
and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  before  the  truce  was 
concluded,  Mosman  had  transferred  himself,  his  wife, 
and  his  valuables  to  the  safer  precincts  of  the  Castle.2 
In  these  circumstances  there  was  nothing  to  pre- 
vent the  Town  Council,  (who  were  responsible  for 
Knox's  accommodation)  putting  the  Reformer,  with 

1  See  paper  of  Sir  Dan.  Wilson  in  Proceedings  of  Soc.  of 
Ant.  of  Sc.,  xxv.,  161. 

2  Miller's  argument  (John  Knox  and  the  Town  Council  of 
Edinburgh,  p.  142)  that  "as  a  shrewd  business  man,  Mosman 
would  attend  to  his  goldsmith's  booth  as  long  as  he  could" 
is  not  convincing,  in  the  light  of  the  danger  which  would  thus 
have  been  incurred, 


[1572]  Last  Days  389 

Mosman's  consent,  or  even  without  it,  as  a  temporary 
tenant  into  the  house  from  which  the  owner  himself 
may  by  this  time  have  fled.1  Although  differing 
from  Knox,  both  in  religion  and  in  politics,  he  may 
have  been  glad,  in  such  a  time,  to  have  his  house 
safely  occupied  in  his  absence  by  a  man  whom  his 
fellow-citizens,  as  a  whole,  respected,  and  whom 
Kirkcaldy  himself,  on  account  of  former  friendship, 
would  be  unwilling  to  molest.  It  has  been  argued, 
indeed,  not  without  some  force,  that  both  the  houses 
which  Knox  certainly  received  from  the  town  as 
residences  were  in  the  close  neighbourhood  of  St. 
Giles',  in  accordance  with  the  ancient  custom  to  have 
kirk  and  manse  adjacent  to  each  other;  and  that 
this  arrangement  was  particularly  necessary  in  Knox's 
weak  condition.2  But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  are 
told  that  Knox  "caused  himself  to  be  carried  to  St. 
Giles'  "  3  (410  yards  from  the  Netherbow) ;  more- 
over, to  be  close  to  St.  Giles'  was  also  to  be  near  the 
guns  of  the  Castle;  and  the  Reformer's  friends  in 
the  Council  may  have  preferred  to  locate  him  out  of 
the  reach  of  danger. 

(6)  As  regards  the  possible  origin  of  the  tradition, 
on  the  assumption  of  its  being  historically  unfounded, 
ample  evidence,  it  must  be  admitted,  exists  that  even 
before  the  Reformer's  time,  the  name  of  Knox,  even 
that  of  John  Knox,  was  associated  with  the  Nether- 
bow. In  the  immediate  vicinity  were  "Knox's 
lands"  and  "Knox's  Close."  4      But  this  evidence, 

1  Guthrie,  Proceedings,  etc.,  xxxiii.,  260,  261. 

2  Miller,  pp.  146-149. 

3  Laing,  W.  of  K.,  vi.,  633. 

4  Miller,  pp.  152-158. 


390  John  Knox  [1572] 

although  not  to  be  disregarded,  does  not  point 
definitely  to  the  particular  building  known,  at  least 
since  the  eighteenth  century,  as  John  Knox's  house, 
being  associated  with  other  Knoxes  x ;  and  while  a 
sufficient  reason  for  the  selection  of  this  building 
(apart  from  any  real  connection  with  the  John  Knox) 
may  exist,  and  afterwards  become  known,  it  is  not 
yet  forthcoming. 

On  the  whole,  while  the  belief  that  this  house  in 
the  Netherbow  was  the  chief  home  of  Knox  must  be 
given  up,  there  is  nothing  intrinsically  improbable  in 
the  supposition  that  the  Reformer  lived  there  during 
the  last  three  months  of  his  life;  and  while  the 
tradition  is  not  demonstrably  old  enough  to  be  quite 
trustworthy,  and  may  any  day  be  contradicted  by 
fresh  documentary  evidence,  it  cannot  be  dismissed 
as  mere  legend,  and  claims  consideration  as  at  least 
possibly,  if  not  probably,  true.2  Even  more  interest- 
ing, however,  to  many,  although  less  generally  re- 
garded, is  the  indisputable  fact  that  the  chief  part  of 
the  Municipal  buildings  in  which  the  magistrates  and 
City  Council  of  Edinburgh  conduct  their  proceedings, 
occupies  the  exact  site  where  Knox  lived  not  for  three 
months,  but  for  six  or  seven  years — years,  moreover, 
which  included  the  most  influential  period  of  his  life. 


1  Guthrie,  p.  270.  "  The  nearest  John  Knox  to  John 
Knox's  house  he  [Mr.  Miller]  locates  no  yards  away." 

2  Cf.  Hume  Brown,  Life  of  Knox,  ii. ,  319  (written,  however, 
before  the  papers  of  Mr.  Miller  and  Mr.  Guthrie  were  con- 
tributed to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  in  Session,  1898-99). 
"  Against  the  tradition  that  points  to  Mosman's  house  as 
a  residence  of  Knox  no  satisfactory  evidence  has  been 
adduced." 


[1572]  Last  Days  39 l 

ii 

Particulars  Regarding  Knox's  Person  and  Family 

i.  The  Latin  epistle  sent  by  Sir  Peter  Young  to 
Beza  in  1579  (along  with  the  portrait  reproduced  in 
the  Icones)  contains  an  interesting  description  of 
the  Reformer's  personal  appearance  in  later  years. 

His  stature  was  a  little  under  middle  height;  his 
limbs  were  graceful  and  well  proportioned ;  his  shoul- 
ders of  more  than  average  breadth ;  his  fingers  long- 
ish;  his  head  of  moderate  size;  his  hair  black;  his 
complexion  darkish;  his  face  not  unpleasing  in 
appearance.  In  his  countenance,  which  was  grave 
and  severe,  a  certain  graciousness  was  united  with 
natural  dignity  and  majesty. 

When  he  was  angry,  his  brow  showed  a  masterful 
spirit.  Beneath  a  rather  narrow  forehead,  his  brows 
stood  out  like  a  ridge ;  and  his  cheeks  were  somewhat 
full  (as  well  as  ruddy),  so  that  his  eyes  appeared  to 
recede  and  to  lie  deep  in  his  head.  The  colour  of  his 
eyes  was  dark  blue  [or  a  dark  bluish  grey] ;  and  their 
glance  was  keen  and  bright. 

His  face  was  longish ;  his  nose  beyond  the  average 
length;  his  mouth  large;  his  eyes  full,  the  upper  lip 
being  the  fuller  of  the  two ;  his  beard  was  black,  with 
white  hairs  intermingled;  it  was  a  span  and  a  half 
long,  and  moderately  thick. — (Hume  Brown,  Life  of 
Knox,  ii.,  323). 

2.  Knox's  widow  married,  two  years  after  his 
death,  Andrew  Ker,  of  Faldonsyde,  near  Melrose,  and 
survived  till  about  161 2.  Knox's  two  sons,  who  had 
lived  in  Northumberland  for  five  years  or  more, 
matriculated  at  the  University  of  Cambridge  in  1572, 


392  John  Knox  [i572] 

eight  days  after  their  father's  death,  and  were  ad- 
mitted to  St.  John's  College  at  the  age  of  15J  and  14 
respectively.  Nathanael  died  at  Cambridge  in  1580. 
Eleazer,  after  an  academic  career  of  considerable 
distinction,  became  Vicar  of  Clacton  Magna,  in  the 
archdeaconry  of  Colchester,  in  1587,  and  died  four 
years  later.  Neither  son  left  issue.  Of  Knox's  three 
daughters  by  his  second  wife,  the  eldest,  Martha, 
married,  in  1584,  Alexander  Fairlie,  of  Braid, 
near  Edinburgh,  the  son  of  a  friend  of  her  father. 
The  second,  Margaret,  became  the  wife  of  Zachary 
Pont  (son  of  Robert  Pont,  minister  of  St.  Cuthbert's) 
eventually  appointed  Archdeacon  of  Caithness  in 
1608.  The  youngest,  Elizabeth,  married  in  1594, 
the  famous  John  Welsh,  minister  of  Ayr,  who  was 
imprisoned  and  exiled  on  account  of  his  opposition 
to  the  ecclesiastical  policy  of  James  VI.  In  162 1, 
when  physicians  recommended  him  to  visit  Scot- 
land on  account  of  his  failing  health,  his  wife  ap- 
plied personally  to  the  King  for  permission.  James 
asked  her  who  her  father  was.  "John  Knox,"  she 
replied.  "Knox  and  Welsh,"  exclaimed  the  King; 
"the  devil  never  made  sic  a  match  as  that!"  "May 
be,"  was  the  smart  rejoinder,  "for  we  never  speired 
his  leave."  The  King  said  that  her  husband  might 
return  to  Scotland  if  he  would  submit  to  the  bishops. 
"Please,  your  Majesty,"  replied  the  high-spirited 
daughter  of  Knox,  extending  her  apron,  "I  would 
rather  kep  [catch]  his  head  there." 

There  appears  to  be  no  certainty  of  any  descendant 
of  Knox  being  now  in  existence.  (Rogers,  Geneal. 
Memoirs  of  John  Knox,  137-146;  Laing,  W.  of  K., 
vi.,  pp.  lxiii.-lxxii.) 


Stone,  in  Parliament  Square,  Edinburgh,  marking  approxi- 
mately the  place  of  Knox's  grave  in  what  was 
formerly  the  Churchyard  of  St.  Giles'. 


393 


INDEX 


Absolution     in     early      Re- 
formed Church,  244-245 
Adamson,  Patrick,  his  three 

kinds  of  bishop,  357 
Alesius,  34,  40,  41,  92 
Annand,  Dean  John,  77 
"Appellation"  of  Knox,  139, 

188 
Arbuckle,   Franciscan  Friar, 

79 

Argyle,  fifth  Earl  of,  me- 
diates between  Regent, 
Mary,  and  Reformers,  200; 
Protestant  leader,  203 

Arran,  James,  second  Earl 
of,  appointed  Regent,  50; 
Protestant  policy,  51-53; 
recantation  and  absolu- 
tion, 54-56.  See  Chatel- 
herault 

Arran,  James,  third  Earl  of, 
aspires  to  marry  Mary  Stu- 
art, 259;  supports  Knox's 
protest  against  the  Holy- 
rood  Mass,  269 

Assembly,  General,  of  1560, 
first,  in  1560,  250;  precau- 
tions of,  before  Mary  Stu- 
art's return,  262-263 ;  free- 
dom of,  demanded,  293;  of 
June,  1565,  demands  rati- 
fication of  Reformation, 
308;  of  December,  1565, 
appoints  national  fast,  311 ; 
of  December,  1566,  pro- 
tests against  reinstatement 
of     Archibald     Hamilton, 


323;  intercedes  for  English 
Puritans,  324;  of  June  and 
July,  1567,  supports  Con- 
federate Lords,  329;  of 
February,  1569,  supports 
Regent,  335;  of  1572,  ac- 
quiesces in  modified  epis- 
copacy, 353 


B 


Balnaves,  Henry,  73;  his 
treatise  on  Justification  by 
Faith,  85 

"Band,"  patriotic,  April, 
1560,  219 

Bannatyne,  Richard,  me- 
morials of  Knox's  last 
days,  363 

Bartholomew,  Massacre  of 
St.,  361;  proceedings  in 
Scotland  on  occasion  of, 
362 

Beaton,  David,  Cardinal  and 
Primate,  45,  49;  arrested 
and  imprisoned,  50;  re- 
leased and  triumphant,  55, 
56;  causes  Wishart's  mar- 
tyrdom, 61;  assassinated, 
68,  69 

Beaton,  James,  Primate,  ^^, 

39 
Berwick,  Knox's  ministry  at, 

95-99 
Beza,  Theodore,  friend  of 
Knox,  22,  46,  121,  141;  in- 
cludes Knox  among  his 
I  cones,  22,  121;  warns 
Knox  against  prelacy,  355 


395 


396 


Index 


Bible,  Geneva,  Version  of,  142 

"Black  Rubric,"  no 

Bothwell,  Patrick,  third  Earl, 
conspires  with  England,  44 

Bothwell,  James,  fourth  Earl, 
reconciled  by  Knox  with 
Earl  of  Arran,  321 ;  malign 
influence  over  Queen  Mary, 
321 

Bower,  Walter,  17-19,  31 

Bowes,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  99; 
relations  with  Knox,  101- 
102;  induces  Knox  to  re- 
turn to  Scotland,  133; 
accompanies  Knox  to 
Geneva,  134 

Bowes,  Marjorie  (first  wife  of 
Knox),  her  earliest  letter 
from  Knox,  100;  marriage 
to  him,  134;  Calvin's  testi- 
mony to,  141;  arrives  in 
Scotland  ,213;  death  of ,  2  5  7 

Boyd,  Lord  Robert,  327,  366 

Buchanan,  George,  40,  45 

Bullinger,  Henry,  121 

Burne,  Nicol,  calumniates 
Knox,  358 

C 

Calvin,  John,  first  meeting  of, 
with  Knox,  121  ;  persuades 
Knox  to  accept  Frankfort 
pastorate,  126;  sympathy 
of,  with  Frankfort  Puri- 
tans, 127,  131 ;  triumph  of, 
at  Geneva,  131;  influence 
of,  on  Knox,  132,  152; 
comforts  Knox  in  sorrow, 
258 

Campbell,  Robert,  of  Kin- 
yeancleugh,  refers  sarcas- 
tically to  Holy  Water  of 
the  Court,  269;  receives 
from  Knox  the  guardian- 
ship of  the  latter' s  wife  and 
children,  366 

Cassilis,  Earls  of,  65,  320 

Catholic  calumnies  against 
Knox,  358 


Catholic  League  of  1565,  310 
Charles  V.,  Emperor,  128 
Chatelherault,  Duke  of, 
James,  second  Earl  of  Ar- 
ran, leads  the  Regent's 
army,  202;  deserts  the  Re- 
gent, 210;  head  of  Queen's 
party,  327 
Church,  Scottish,  its  early  in- 
dependence of  Rome,  1-4; 
independent  spirit  in  Ro- 
man period,  6;  supports 
the  national  cause,  7 ;  re- 
sists papal  aggression,  8; 
growth  of  sentiment 
against  Rome,  11-20,  186 
Clergy,  demoralisation  of 
Roman,  its  causes  and 
evidences,  9-13 ;  testimony 
thereto  by  Lesley  and 
Ninian  Winzet,  14,  15;  ig- 
norance of,  illustrated, 
n-12;  covetousness  of, 
12;  multiplied  pluralities, 
13 ;  ecclesiastical  exactions, 

14 

Cockburn,  John,  of  Ormis- 
ton,  71 

Columba,  3 

Common  Order,  Book  of,  241 

Concordat  of  Leith,  353 

Confession  of  Faith,  Re- 
formed, 224;  characteris- 
tics of,  225  ;  compared  with 
Westminster  Confession, 
232.     See  Helvetic 

Council,  Provincial,  at  Edin- 
burgh, 91,  194 

Covenant,    first    Scottish,   in 

i557»  177-178     . 

Coverdale,  Miles,  135,  141 

Cox,  Richard,  127 

Cranmer  and  English  Re- 
formation, 91 

Crawar,  Paul,  teaches  Re- 
formed doctrine,  18;  is 
burnt  at  St.  Andrews,  19 

Crighton,  Bishop  of  Dunkeld, 


Index 


397 


Darnley,  Henry,  Lord,  re- 
turns to  Scotland,  304; 
married  to  Queen  Mary, 
306;  conspires  against  Riz- 
zio,  315;  is  murdered,  326 

Davidson,  John,  Regent  at 
St.  Andrews  (afterwards 
minister  of  Prestonpans) , 
eulogy  of  Knox,  346 

Diaconate  in  Reformed 
Church,  238 

Dieppe,  Knox's  ministry  at, 
148-151 

Discipline,  Book  of,  drawn 
up  by  Knox  and  others, 
236;  provisions  of,  regard- 
ing ( 1 )  ministers  and  other 
office-bearers,  237;  (2) 
church  courts,  240;  (3) 
worship,  241;  (4)  educa- 
tion, 246;  (5)  ecclesiastical 
patrimony,  247;  reception 
of,  by  General  Assembly, 
250;  by  the  Estates,  251 

Douglas,  Hugh,  of  Longnid- 
dry,  58,  71 

Douglas,  John,  Rector  of  St. 
Andrews  University,  as- 
sists in  drawing  up  Con- 
fession, 224;  and  Book  of 
Discipline,  236;  not  against 
Queen's  Mass,  297;  ap- 
pointed Archbishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  353 

Dunbar,  William,  32 


Education,  provision  for,  in 
Book  of  Discipline,  245; 
compulsory,  advocated, 
246 

Edward  VI.,  of  England, 
proposed  betrothal  of  Mary 
Stuart  to,  50,  89;  First 
Prayer-book  of ,  97 ;  Second 


Prayer-book  of ,  109;  death 
of,  113 

Elder  in  Reformed  Scottish 
Church,  238 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  refuses 
Knox  a  safe-conduct,  147; 
realises  danger  of  French 
predominance  in  Scotland, 
217;  grudges  cost  of  war, 
220;  objects  to  marriage 
of  Mary  and  Darnley,  305 

England,  negotiations  of 
Scottish  Reformers  with, 
5 1 ;  league  of,  with  Scot- 
tish Reformers,  209,  217; 
sends  army  into  Scotland 
to  aid  the  Protestants,  218; 
army  of,  besieges  Leith, 
220;  commissioners  of, 
treat  for  peace,  221 

Erskine,  John,  fifth  Lord,  af- 
terwards Earl  of  Mar,  gov- 
ernor of  Edinburgh  Castle, 
204;  neutral  in  conflict 
between  Regent  and  Re- 
formers, 205;  admits  Re- 
gent into  Castle,  218; 
succeeds  Lennox  as  Re- 
gent, 338 

Erskine,  John,  of  Dun,  160- 
161;  commissioner  to 
France,  181;  interview  of, 
with  Regent  Mary  at  Stir- 
ling, 197;  ordained  as 
preacher,  and  appointed 
Superintendent,  250;  with 
Knox  at  Holyrood,  280- 
281;  remonstrates  against 
"spoil  of  the  Kirk,"  340 

Exiles,    Protestant    Scottish, 

F 

Festivals,  not  observed  in 
Preformed  Church,  242 

First  Blast  against  the  Mon- 
strous Regiment  of  Women, 
139,  147;  referred  to  by 
Queen  Mary,  272 


Index 


Foxe,  John,  139 

Francis,  King  of  France, 
death  of,  259 

Frankfort,  Knox's  ministry 
at,  126-130 

French  army  in  Scotland,  89, 
207-211,  213,  216,  219, 
220 

Funerals,  prayer  at,  dis- 
couraged, 242 


Galley  service,  hardships  of, 

83 

Geneva,  Book  of,  137,  142 

Geneva,  Knox's  ministry  at, 
134-146;  freedom  of,  con- 
ferred on,  147;  writings  of 
Knox  issued  from,  188- 
191 

Giles',  St.,  image  of,  de- 
stroyed, 188 

Glencairn,  Alexander,  Earl 
of,  signs  the  "Band,"  219 

Goodman,  Christopher,  134 


H 


Haddington,  ecclesiastical 
importance  of,  30 

Hamilton,  Archibald,  calum- 
niates Knox,  358 

Hamilton,  James,  assassin- 
ates Regent  Moray,  336 

Hamilton,  John,  Abbot  of 
Paisley,  54;  appointed 
Primate,  78;  his  policy  of 
Reformation,  157;  of  per- 
secution, 183;  threatens 
Knox  at  St.  Andrews,  201 ; 
reinstatement  in  disciplin- 
ary jurisdiction,  323 

Hamilton,  Patrick,  cited  by 
Primate  James  Beaton, 
escapes  to  Marburg,  re- 
turns to  Scotland,  33;  his 
trial,  condemnation,  and 
martyrdom,  34 


Harlaw,  William,  158,  194 

Helvetic  Confession,  First, 
introduced  by  Wishart,  63  ; 
Second,  approved  by  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  322 

Henry  VIII.,  his  designs 
upon  Scotland,  43 ;  mar- 
riage proposals,  50 

Heresy,  early  Act  against, 
15;  prevalence  attested, 
17-20;  Wycliffite,  16; 
Hussite,  17 

Heretical  books,  laws  against, 

51 
History  of  the  Reformation  in 

Scotland,  Knox's,  255-257 
Huntly,  George  Gordon,  first 
Earl  of,  subscribes  the 
"Band"  against  the 
French  army,  219 
Hymns  in  Reformed  Scot- 
tish Church,  242 


James  VI.,  King  of  Scotland, 
birth  of,  321 ;  coronation 
of,  33° 


K 


Kennedy,  Quintin,  his  dis- 
putation with  Knox,  288 

Kentigern,  3 

King's  party  (during  Mary's 
imprisonment)  inconsider- 
ate of  the  Church  after 
Moray's  death,  340;  loy- 
alty of  Church  to,  341 

Kirkcaldy,  Sir  William,  of 
Grange,  one  of  the  assas- 
sins of  Cardinal  Beaton, 
68;  imprisoned  at  Mont  St. 
Michel,  86;  joins  Confed- 
erate Lords,  327;  secedes  to 
Queen's  party,  339;  ac- 
cuses Knox  of  calumny, 
342;  acknowledges  Knox 
as  a  "man  of  God,"  368 


Index 


399 


Kirk  Session  in  Reformed 
Church,  240 

Knox,  John,  date  of  birth 
discussed,  22,  45;  probable 
birthplace,  25;  parentage, 
29;  earliest  contact  with 
Reforming  influences,  32; 
studies  the  ancient  Fathers, 
36;  ordained  priest,  ibid.; 
prolonged  inaction  on  the 
religious  question,  37  ;  pro- 
bable causes  of  this  atti- 
tude, 38;  patriotic  senti- 
ment, 41-45;  earliest  trace 
of  sympathy  with  evan- 
gelical truth,  53 ;  influence 
of  Wishart  over,  58;  de- 
sires to  accompany  him, 
60;  traces  of  Wishart's 
teaching,  63 ;  condonation 
of  Beaton's  murder  by,  69 ; 
goes  with  pupils  to  St. 
Andrews  Castle,  72;  called 
there  to  office  of  preacher, 
75;  first  sermon  after  call, 
77,  78;  discussion  with 
Wynram  and  Arbuckle, 
79;  fruitful  labours  of,  80; 
public  celebration  of  Holy 
Communion  by,  ibid.;  sent 
to  the  galleys,  83-86;  re- 
lease of,  87  ;  settles  in  Eng- 
land, 91;  at  Berwick,  94; 
fruits  of  ministry  there,  96; 
evangelistic  diligence,  97; 
connection  with  Puritan- 
ism, 97,  98;  address  on  the 
mass  in  St.  Nicholas' 
Church,  Newcastle,  104; 
removed  to  that  town,  106 ; 
appointed  royal  chaplain, 
107  ;  refuses  See  of  Roches- 
ter, 109;  influence  on 
Second  Prayer-book  of 
Edward  VI.,  no;  and  on 
"Forty-two  Articles,"  in; 
summoned  before  Privy 
Council,  112;  laments 
King's   death,    113;   prays 


for  Mary  Tudor,  114;  con- 
tinues to  preach,  115; 
escapes  to  continent,  ibid.; 
reasons  for  flight,  116;  lit- 
erary labours  ai  Dieppe, 
119;  visits  Switzerland, 
120;  questions  addressed 
to  Swiss  Divines,  121;  in- 
tends to  settle  in  Geneva, 
124;  accepts  invitation  to 
Frankfort,  126;  the  Frank- 
fort troubles,  127-130;  re- 
turns to  Geneva,  131; 
appointed  minister  there, 
133;  visits  Scotland,  his 
marriage,  134;  again  in 
Geneva,  ibid.;  pastoral  and 
literary  work  there,  135- 
141;  his  happiness  in  Gen- 
eva, 140;  invited  back  to 
Scotland,  143;  discouraged 
by  letters,  144;  resumes 
work  at  Geneva,  146;  final 
departure,  147;  ministry 
at  Dieppe,  148;  arrival  in 
Edinburgh,  1555,  159;  pro- 
tests against  Reformers 
attending  mass,  160;  visits 
various  districts  of  Scot- 
land, 161-163;  cited  be- 
fore ecclesiastical  court  in 
Edinburgh,  164;  trial  de- 
parted from,  ibid.;  ad- 
dresses letter  to  the  Regent 
Mary,  165;  answers  ques- 
tions about  ' '  papistical 
baptism,"  170;  burnt  in 
effigy  at  the  Cross  of  Edin- 
burgh, 174;  tracts  of,  ad- 
dressed from  Geneva  to 
Scotland,  188;  final  return 
to  Scotland,  196;  preaches 
at  Perth  against  mass,  198; 
disavows  rebellion,  200; 
preaches  in  St.  Andrews, 
201;  in  Edinburgh,  204; 
appointed  to  St.  Giles',  206; 
propagates  Protestantism 
in     Scotland,     207;     nego- 


400 


Index 


Knox — Continued . 

tiates  with  England,  208; 
advises  suspension  of  al- 
legiance to  Regent,  211; 
influenced  by  patriotic  as 
well  as  religious  motives, 
212;  revives  courage  of  Re- 
formers at  Stirling,  215; 
draws  up  the  "Band" 
of  1560,  219;  preaches 
Thanksgiving  sermon,  222 ; 
prepares  Confession  of 
Faith,  224;  and  Book  of 
Discipline,  236;  condemns 
mercenary  Reformers,  251; 
discusses  doctrine  of  the 
mass  with  Principal  An- 
derson, 253;  writes  History 
of  Reformation,  255;  be- 
reaved of  his  wife,  257; 
anxiety  before,  and  at  the 
time  of  Mary's  return,  258, 
266;  denounces  the  mass  in 
Holyrood,  268;  first  inter- 
view with  the  Queen,  270; 
defends  himself  against 
several  charges,  271-272; 
enunciates  doctrine  of 
limited  monarchy,  "273'; 
his  opinion  of  Mary  Stuart, 
275;  other  interviews  with 
the  Queen,  276-283;  his 
views  on  dancing,  276;  on 
the  punishment  of  "mass- 
mongers  , "  277;  on  pro- 
posed Spanish  marriage, 
279;  trial  before  Privy 
Council,  281;  acquittal, 
283  ;  review  of  his  relations; 
with"  Mary,  285;  marries 
Margaret  Stewart,  284; 
disputation  with  Quintin 
Kennedy,  288;  divergence 
between,  and  Protestant 
statesmen,  290;  vindicates 
freedom  of  Assemblies,  293  ; 
crisis  of  disagreement,  294; 
estrangement  between,  and 
Moray,    298;    opposed    to 


Darnley  as  royal  consort, 
307 ;  preaches  before  Darn- 
ley,  308;  prohibited  from 
preaching  in  Edinburgh, 
309;  prayers  for  the  ban- 
ished lords,  311;  arranges 
national  fast,  ibid.;  pre- 
pares pastoral  on  susten- 
ance of  ministers,  313; 
justifies  Rizzio's  assassina- 
tion, 317;  painful  depres- 
sion, 318;  retires  to  Ayr- 
shire, 320;  visits  sons  in 
England,  and  intervenes 
on  behalf  of  Puritan  clergy, 
325;  supports  Confederate 
Lords,  ,329;  denounces 
Queen  IVlary  in  St.  Giles', 
ibid.;  co-operates  with 
Moray,  331;  contemplates 
return  to  Geneva,  ^7,y, 
sermon  after  Moray's 
death,  337;  laments  s«e-x 
cession  of  Kirkcaldy,  339; 
complains  of  both  political 
factions,  340;  yet  supports 
loyally  the  King's  party, 
341 ;  struck  with  apoplexy, 
342;  charged  with  defam- 
ing the  Queen,  343;  fired 
at  from  outside  his  house, 
344;  retires  to  St.  An- 
drews, intercourse  and  en- 
vironment there,  345;  his 
preaching  described  by 
James  Melville,  348;  re- 
plies to  James  Tyrie,  349; 
acquiesces  in  modified 
episcopate,  354;  with  mis- 
givings, 355 ;  suggests  safe- 
guards against  abuses,  356; 
declines  to  take  part  in  the 
installation  of  Archbishop 
Douglas,  355;  returns  to 
Edinburgh,  359;  preaches 
on  the  massacre  of  St. 
Bartholomew,  362 ;  inducts 
James  Lawson,  ibid.;  last 
days,  363;  bids  farewell  to 


Index 


401 


Knox — Continued. 

Kirk-Session,  364;  com- 
mends wife  and  children 
to  Campbell  of  Kinyean- 
cleugh,  365 ;  interview  with 
Earl  of  Morton,  366;  sends 
message  to  Kirkcaldy,  367 ; 
is  assured  of  K.'s  salva- 
tion, 368;  last  words  and 
death,  369;  burial,  371; 
character,  371;  influence, 
378 

Knox,  daughters  of,  392 

''Knox's  House" :  did  he  ever 
live  there?  383 

Knox,    sons    of,     Nathanael 
and  Eleazer,  141,  325,  391 

Knox,    William,    brother    of 
Reformer,  30 


Laing,  James,  calumniator  of 

Knox,  358 
Laurence  of  Lindores,  17,  19 
Leith,  siege  of,  220;  treaty  of, 

221;  Concordat  of,  353 
Lennox,      Matthew,     fourth 
Earl  of,  succeeds  Moray  as 
Regent,  338 
Lent,  Knox's  views  on,  170 
Lesley,  Bishop  John,  14 
Lesley,  Norman  and  John,  of 

Rothes,  68 
Locke,  Mrs.  Anne,  136 
Logie,  Gavin,  35,  39,  40 
Lollardism,     thirty     persons 

charged  with,  20 
Lords  of  the  Congregation, 
178;  their  address  to  the 
Regent,  180;  Convention 
of,  at  St.  Andrews,  201; 
make  league  with  Eng- 
land, 209;  renounce  al- 
legiance to  Mary  of  Guise, 
211;  demand  dismissal  of 
French,  210,  219  (see  Pro- 
testant army) 
26 


Lyndsay,  Sir  David,  Tragedy 

of  the  Cardinal,  69 
Lyndsay,  John,  fifth  Lord,  his 

Nunc  dimittis,  228 


M 


Maitland,  William,  of  Leth- 
ington,  on  attendance  of 
Protestants  at  mass,  160; 
leaves  Regent  and  joins 
Reformers,  212;  ambassa- 
dor to  England,  216;  politi- 
cal aims,  292;  discusses 
with  Knox  resistance  to 
sovereigns,  296;  attitude 
towards  Mary's  marriage 
to  Darnley,  306;  willing  to 
restore  the  Queen,  327; 
openly  joins  the  Queen's 
party,  338;  personal  con- 
troversy with  Knox,  365 

Major,  John,  teaching  of,  37, 

38 

Margaret,  Queen,  and  her 
sons,  5 

Martyrs  of  the  Scottish  Re- 
formation, 40 

Mary  of  Guise,  Regent  of 
Scotland,  156;  reasons  of 
her  policy  of  conciliation 
towards  Reformers ,  157; 
treatment  of  Knox's  letter, 
168;  change  of  demeanour 
to  Protestants,  182;  al- 
leged breach  of  faith  with 
Reformers,  197;  outlaws 
Protestant  preachers,  ibid.; 
concludes  temporary  truce 
at  Perth,  200;  at  Cupar, 
202;  charges  Reformers 
with  revolution,  203; 
charged  with  "planting  of 
strangers,"  211;  occupies 
Leith  with  army,  218;  her 
death  in  Edinburgh  Castle, 
221 

Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  be- 
trothed   to    Dauphin,    90; 


402 


Index 


Mary  Queen  of  Scots — Con. 
married  to  Dauphin,  182; 
discountenances  revolu- 
tion, 265;  refuses  to  ratify 
treaty  of  Leith,  ibid.;  pre- 
judiced against  Knox,  266; 
returns  to  Scotland,  ibid.; 
has  mass  in  Holyrood,  267  ; 
first  interview  with  Knox, 
270;  declares  that  she  will 
nourish  the  Kirk  of  Rome, 
274;  second  interview  after 
Knox's  sermon  on  danc- 
ing, 276;  third  interview  at 
Lochleven,  277;  fourth  in- 
terview about  her  pro- 
posed marriage ,  279; 
charges  Knox  with  trea- 
son, 281;  angry  at  Knox's 
marriage  to  Margaret 
Stewart,  284;  marries 
Darnley,  306;  excites  his 
jealousy,  315;  under  Both- 
well's  influence,  323;  mar- 
ries him,  326;  imprisoned, 
327;  abdicates,  330 

Mary  Tudor,  influence  of  her 
persecutions  on   Scotland, 

158 

Mass,  Reformers  withdraw 
from,  160;  celebration  of, 
made  penal,  229;  death 
penalty  for,  never  imposed 
m  Knox's  life-time,  231; 
doctrine  of,  discussed  be- 
fore Parliament,  254;  cele- 
brated at  Holyrood,  267; 
protested  against  by  Knox, 
268;  discussed  by  Knox 
and  Kennedy,  288;  openly 
partaken  of  by  nobles,  311 

Melville,  James,  of  Raith,  68 

Milne,  Walter,  martyrdom  of, 
184 

Minister,  the,  in  the  Re- 
formed Church,  237 

Morton,  James  Douglas, 
fourth  Earl  of,  joins  con- 
spiracy     against      Rizzio, 


315;  flees  to  England,  320; 
a  leader  of  Confederate 
Lords,  327;  directs  King's 
party,  341;  episcopate  re- 
vived through  his  influ- 
ence, 351;  interview  with 
Knox  on  latter' s  death- 
bed, 366 

N 

Newcastle,  Knox  at,  103-106 
Ninian,  1,  2 
Northumberland,     Duke    of, 

recommends      Knox      for 

bishopric,  108 


0 


Ochiltree,  Lord,  284,  327 
Order  of  Service,  Knox's,  173 
Organisation     of     Reformed 
Church,  Chap.  IX. 


Palladius,  2,  3 

Parliament,  Scottish,  of  1543, 
sanctions  reading  of  ver- 
nacular Scripture,  52;  of 
1560,  its  enactments 
against  Romanism,  222; 
adopts  Reformed  Confes- 
sion, 227 ;  refrains  from  ac- 
cepting Book  of  Discipline, 
251;  of  1563,  first  after 
Mary's  return,  294;  of  De- 
cember ,  1567,  est  ablishes 
Reformed  Church  on  con- 
stitutional basis,  331;  pro- 
vides for  sustenance  of 
ministers,  332;  and  for 
Protestantism  of  sover- 
eign, ibid. 

Patrimony,  ecclesiastical, 
Book  of  Discipline  on,  247 

Persecution  of  Protestants, 
34,  39,  56,  91 

Perth,  St.  John's  Church,  199 

Pinkie,  battle  of,  89 


Index 


403 


Preachers,  Reformed,  cited, 
194;  outlawed,  197;  suc- 
cess attested,  207;  list  of 
notable,  235 

Predestination,  Knox  on, 
151-155 

Presbytery,  germ  of,  241 

Protestant  army  at  Perth, 
196;  at  Cupar,  202;  in  Ed- 
inburgh, 203;  defeated 
near  Holyrood,  213;  inade- 
quate support  of,  214;  re- 
tires to  Stirling,  ibid.;  has 
its  courage  revived,  215 

Protestant  statesmen,  object 
to  Reformed  Church's 
claim  to  patrimony,  251; 
in  favour  of  concessions  to 
Mary,  291;  look  forward  to 
union  with  England,  292; 
jealous  of  power  of  General 
Assembly,  293;  object  to 
Knox's  language  about  | 
Queen  Mary,  294;  counsel  | 
postponement  of  ecclesi- 
astical demands,  295 

Protestantism  in  Scotland, 
earliest  impulse  to,  from 
England,  16;  early  pro- 
gress of,  19 

"Protestation"  of  Reformers 
to  Parliament  in  1558,  192 

Psalter,  metrical  English,  142 

Puritans,  English,  interven- 
tion on  behalf  of,  by  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  324 


Queen's  Party,  after  Mary 
Stuart's  surrender,  327; 
strengthened  by  acces- 
sions, 338;  court  Protest- 
ant support,  339 


R 


"Rascal  Multitude,"  the,  199 
Reformation,    Scottish,    hin- 


dered by  English  political 
designs,  44;  helped  for- 
ward by  a  variety  of  influ- 
ences, 157,  176 

Reid,  Adam,  of  Barskim- 
ming,  20 

Resby,  James,  16 

Rizzio,  David,  favours  Darn- 
ley's  suit,  306;  plot  against, 
315;  assassination  of,  315 

Rochelle,  Knox  preaches  at, 
144 

Roman  Catholic  bishops  and 
peers  dissent  from  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  227;  propose 
to  raise  an  army  for  Queen 
Mary,  262 

Rough,  John,  chaplain,  53; 
his  appeal  to  Knox  in 
Castle  of  St.  Andrews,  75 

Row,  John,  assists  in  draw- 
ing up  Confession,  224; 
and  Book  of  Discipline, 
236 


St.  Andrews,  theological  con- 
vention at,  78;  siege  and 
surrender  of,  81,  82;  Knox 
at,  72-82,  201,  321,  345 

Sandilands,  Sir  James,  of 
Calder,  180 

Scone,  Abbey  of,  destroyed, 
202 

Sinclair,  Henry,  Bishop  of 
Ross,  acquits  Knox,  283 

Somerset,  Protector,  invades 
Scotland,  89 

Spottiswoode,  John,  assists 
in  drawing  up  Confession 
and  Book  of  Discipline, 
224,  236 

Stewart,"  Lord  James  (Earl  of 
Moray),  162;  Commis- 
sioner to  France  about 
Mary  Stuart's  marriage, 
181;  mediates  between  Re- 
gent Mary  and  Reformers, 


404 


Index 


Stewart,  Lord  James — Con. 
200;  departs  from  Regent, 
201;  subscribes  "Band," 
219;  visits  Mary  Stuart  in 
France,  264;  allows  mass 
in  Holyrood,  267;  counsels 
Knox  to  humble  himself, 
282;  estrangement  be- 
tween Knox  and,  298;  po- 
litical and  ecclesiastical 
aims  of,  300;  views  of,  re- 
garding Queen's  marriage, 
301 ;  reconciliation  of,  with 
Knox,  303  ;  opposes  Mary's 
marriage  to  Darnley,  306; 
flight  of,  307;  return  of, 
from  exile,  318;  Regent, 
331;  services  to  the  Church 
332;  testimony  to,  by 
Knox,  Calderwood,  and 
Spottiswoode,  337 

Stewart,  Margaret  (of  Ochil- 
tree), married  to  Knox, 
284;  ministers  to  Knox  on 
his  death-bed,  363 

Superintendent,  office  of,  239 

Synod,  in  Reformed  Church, 
240 

T 

Tulchan  bishops,  357 

Tunstall,  Bishop  of  Durham, 
94;  summons  Knox  before 
Council  of  the  North,  104 

Tyrie,  James,  Jesuit  profes- 
sor, 349 

W 

Wallace,  Adam,  martyr,  158 
Welsh,       Mrs.         Elizabeth, 
daughter   of   Knox,  Add'l 
Note  to  Chap.  XIV. 
Whittingham,  William,  suc- 
ceeds   Knox    in    Genevan 


pastorate,  1 3  5 ;  chief  trans- 
lator   of    Genevan    Bible, 

i35»  142 

William,  Thomas,  chaplain 
to  Regent,  53 

Willock,  John,  takes  Knox's 
place  in  St.  Giles',  206;  ad- 
vises suspension  of  allegi- 
ance to  Regent,  211;  as- 
sists in  drawing  up  Con- 
fession, 224;  and  Book  of 
Discipline,  236 

Winzet,  Ninian,  15;  testi- 
mony of,  to  Roman  abuses, 
15;  his  Tractates,  275;  con- 
troversy with  Knox,  287 

Wishart,  George,  teaches 
Greek  New  Testament,  57  ; 
cited,  and  escapes,  ibid.; 
returns  to  Scotland,  and 
preaches  in  Dundee,  Ayr- 
shire, Leith,  etc.,  58; 
friendship  with  Knox,  59; 
in  Haddington,  60;  mid- 
night arrest,  trial,  and 
execution,  61;  last  words, 
62;  discussion  of  alleged 
complicity  in  Beaton's  as- 
sassination, 64 

Wynram,  John,  Vicar-Gen- 
eral of  Primate,  78;  dis- 
cussion with  Knox  at  St. 
Andrews,  79;  joins  Re- 
formers and  assists  in 
drawing  up  Confession, 
224;  and  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline, 236;  against  pro- 
hibiting the  "Queen's 
mass,"  297 


Young,  Sir  Peter,  letter 
about  Knox  to  Beza,  22, 
45 


Jl  Selection  from  the 
Catalogue  of 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S   SONS 


Complete  Catalogues  sent 
on  application 


Heroes  of  the  Reformation 


EDITED    BY 


SAMUEL  MACAULEY  JACKSON, 

Professor  of  Church  History,  New  York  University. 


FULLY   ILLUSTRATED 


A  Series  of  biographies  of  the  leaders  in  the  Protes- 
tant Reformation. 

The  literary  skill  and  the  standing  as  scholars  of  the 
writers  who  have  agreed  to  prepare  these  biographies 
will,  it  is  believed,  ensure  for  them  a  wide  acceptance  on 
the  part  not  only  of  special  students  of  the  period  but  of 
the  general  reader.  Full  use  will  be  made  in  them  of  the 
correspondence  of  their  several  subjects  and  of  any  other 
autobiographical  material  that  may  be  available.  The 
general  reader  will  be  pleased  to  find  all  these  citations 
translated  into  English  and  the  scholar  to  find  them 
referred  specifically  to  their  source.  The  value  of  these 
volumes  will  be  furthered  by  comprehensive  literary  and 
historical  references  and  adequate  indexes. 

It  is,  of  course,  the  case  that  each  one  of  the  great 
teachers  whose  career  is  to  be  presented  in  this  series 
looked  at  religious  truth  and  at  the  problems  of  Chris- 
tianity from  a  somewhat  different  point  of  view.  On  this 
ground  an  important  feature  in  each  volume  of  the  series 
will  be  a  precise  and  comprehensive  statement,  given  as 
nearly  as  practicable  in  the  language  of  the  original 
writer,  of  the  essential  points  in  his  theology. 

It  is  planned  that  the  narratives  shall  be  not  mere 
eulogies,  but  critical  biographies  ;  and  the  defects  of 
judgment  or  sins  of  omission  or  commission  on  the  parts 
of  the  subjects  will  not  be  passed  by  or  extenuated.  On 
the  other  hand  they  will  do  full  justice  to  the  nobility  of 
character  and  to  the  distinctive  contribution  to  human 
progress  made  by  each  one  of  these  great  Protestant 
leaders  of  the  Reformation  period.  The  series  will  avoid 
the  partisanship  of  writers  like  Merle  d'Aubigne,  and,  in 
the  opposite  direction,  of  the  group  of  which  Johannes 
Janssen  may  be  taken  as  a  type. 


HEROES  OF  THE  REFORMATION 


I.— MARTIN  LUTHER  (1483-1546).     The  Hero  of  the  Ref- 
ormation.     By  Henry  Eyster  Jacobs,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
With  73  Illustrations.      12°  .....         $1.50 

"  The  initial  volume  of  the  Heroes  of  the  Reformation  Series  is  a  worthy  in- 
auguration of  what  cannot  but  prove  an  interesting  and  instructive  contribution 
to  a  most  important  epoch  of  history.  .  .  .  Professor  Jacobs  is  an  exception- 
ally sympathetic  and  competent  biographer.  .  .  .  The  author  has  availed 
himself  of  all  the  latest  sources  of  information,  and  done  the  needful  work  of 
selection  and  condensation  with  excellent  judgment  and  skill."  —  Christian 
Intelligencer. 

II.  — PHILIP  MELANCHTHON  (1497-1560).  The  Prot- 
estant Preceptor  of  Germany.  By  James  William  Richard, 
D.D.     With  35  Illustrations.     12°  .         .         .         $1.50 

"This  work  will  be  valued  by  the  general  reader  who  likes  a  well-told  biog- 
raphy, and  by  the  historian  who  is  looking  for  facts  and  not  opinions  about  facts, 
and  by  the  wise  teacher  of  the  young  who  desires  his  pupils  to  read  that  which 
will  at  once  instruct  and  inspire  them  with  respect  for  what  is  great  and  honor- 
able. For  these  purposes,  I  believe  no  other  work  on  Melanchthon  can  compare 
with  this  one." — Universalist  Leader. 

Ill  —  DESIDERIUS  ERASMUS  (1467-1536).  The  Hu- 
manist in  the  Service  of  the  Reformation.  By  Ephraim 
Emerton,  Ph.D.     With  36  Illustrations.      120  .         .         $1.50 

"  Professor  Emerton  has  done  a  thorough  and  skilful  piece  of  work.  .  .  . 
He  has  given  his  readers  a  graphic,  spirited,  well-balanced  and  trustworthy  study, 
which  contains  all  which  most  readers  care  to  know,  and  in  a  manner  which 
they  will  find  acceptable.  The  book  is  a  valuable  addition  to  the  series." — 
Congregationalist. 

IV. —  THEODORE   BEZA   (1549-1605).      The  Counsellor   of 

the  French  Reformation.     By  Henry  Martyn  Baird,  Ph.D. 

With  24  Illustrations.       12° $1.50 

"  No  one  could  so  well  present  the  life  of  Beza  in  its  true  relations  and  in  so 
pleasing  and  popular  a  style  as  the  accomplished  historian  of  the  Huguenots. 
Dr.  Baird  has  not  only  exceptional  familiarity  with  the  period,  but  fullest  sym- 
pathy with  the  hero,  and  accordingly  has  produced  a  book  of  special  interest  and 
value." — Christian  Intelligencer. 

V.— HULDREICH   ZWINGLI  (1484-1531).      The  Reformer 

of   German   Switzerland.      By   Samuel  Macauley  Jackson, 

LL.D.     With  30  Illustrations,  a  Special  Map,  Battle  Plan,  and 

a  Facsimile  Letter.     120 $2.00 

"  It  is  notable  as  the  first  adequate  life  of  Zwingli  by  an  English-speaking 
author  .  .  .  portrays  the  man,  the  accomplished  scholar,  social  reformer,  ardent 
patriot,  the  theologian,  so  far  in  advance  of  his  time  as  to  stand  alone  in  the  faith 
that  all  infants  would  be  saved.  But  Professor  Jackson  is  no  eulogist  and 
exhibits  the  defects  of  Zwingli  with  unsparing  hand,  —  defects  which  appear  due 
to  his  time  and  circumstances,  and  far  less  serious  in  our  judgment  than  some 
which  lie  at  the  door  of  those  whose  fame  has  overshadowed  his."  —  The 
Outlook. 

For  list  of  volumes  in  preparation  see  separate  circular 

NEW  YORK G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS LONDON 


Iberoes  of  tbe  Information 


VI.   THOMAS  CRANMER 

AND 

THE  ENGLISH   REFORMATION 
1489-1556 

BY 

ALBERT  FREDERICK  POLLARD,  M.A.,  F.R.H.S. 

*  With  21  Illustrations.     Crow7i  Octavo.     Net,  $1.35. 
{By  mail,  $1.50.) 

"The  life  of  the  eminent  martyr  is  here  presented  in  what  were 
its  true  relations.  Mr.  Pollard  has  fullest  sympathy  with  his  subject ; 
he  indicates  faults  as  well  as  virtues  and  presents  a  vital  picture  of 
the  great  prelate." — Detroit  Free  Press. 

VII.   JOHN  KNOX 

THE   HERO   OF  THE  SCOTTISH 
REFORMATION 

BY 

HENRY  COWAN,  D.D. 

With  28  Illustrations  and  2  Facsimile  Letters. 
Crown  Octavo.      Net,  $1 35.     {Postage,  15  cents.) 

"John  Knox,  by  universal  acknowledgment,  is  the  hero  of  the 
Scottish  Reformation.  In  the  final  revolt  of  Scotland  against 
Rome,  as  well  as  in  the  establishment,  organization,  and  consoli- 
dation of  the  Reformed  Church,  his  influence  was  paramount  and  his 
service  unique." 


Heroes  of  the  Nations. 


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HEROES  OF  THE  NATIONS 


NELSON. 


By  W.  Clark  Russell. 
By  C. 


GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS 
R.  L.  Fletcher 


PERICLES. 


By  Evelyn  Abbott. 
By 


THEODORIC    THE    GOTH 

Thomas  Hodgkin. 

SIR  PHILIP  SIDNEY, 
Fox-Bourne. 


JULIUS  CESAR. 
Fowler. 


By  H.  R. 
By  W.  Warde 


WYCLIF.     By  Lewis  Sergeant. 

NAPOLEON.     By     W.     O'Connor 

Morris. 

HENRY  OF  NAVARRE 
F.  Willert. 


CICERO.     By     J. 

Davidson. 


By  P. 

L.     Strachan- 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
Brooks. 


By  Noah 


PRINCE  HENRY  (OF  PORTU- 
GAL) THE  NAVIGATOR. 
By  C.  R.  Beazley. 

JULIAN  THE  PHILOSOPHER. 
By  Alice  Gardner. 

LOUIS  XIV.     By  Arthur  Hassall. 

CHARLES  XII.  By  R.  Nisbet 
Bain. 

LORENZO  DE'  MEDICI.     By  Ed- 

ward  Armstrong. 

JEANNE  D'ARC.  By  Mrs.  Oli- 
phant. 

CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS.  By 
Washington  Irving. 

ROBERT  THE  BRUCE.     By  Sir 

Herbert  Maxwell. 

HANNIBAL.  By  W.  O'Connor 
Morris. 


ULYSSES  S.GRANT. 

Conant  Church. 


By  William 


ROBERT    E.     LEE.     By 

Alexander  White. 

THE  CID  CAMPEADOR. 
Butler  Clarke. 

SALAD1N.      By     Stanley 
Poole. 

BISMARCK.       By   J.    W. 


Henry 
By  H. 
Lane- 


lam. 


Head- 


ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT 
Benjamin  I.  Wheeler. 

CHARLEMAGNE. 
Davis. 


By 
I.  W.  C. 

By 

By  James  B.   Per- 

By  Rob- 


OLIVER         CROMWELL. 

Charles  Firth. 

RICHELIEU, 
kins. 

DANIEL  O'CONNELL. 

ert  Dunlop. 

SAINT     LOUIS     (Louis     IX.     of 
France).     By  Frederick  Perry 

LORD    CHATHAM.     By   Walford 
Davis  Green. 

OWEN    GLYNDWR.     By   Arthur 
G.  Bradley.     $1.35  net. 

HENRY  V.     By  Charles  L.  Kings- 
ford.     $1.35  net. 

EDWARD  I.     By  Edward  Jenks. 

$1.35  net. 
AUGUSTUS    C^SAR.      By  J.  B. 

Firth.     $1.35  net. 
FREDERICK   THE  GREAT.    By 

W.  F.  Reddaway. 
WELLINGTON.     By  W.  O'Connor 

Morris 
CONST ANTINE  THE  GREAT.  By 

J.  B.  Firth. 


Other  volumes  in  preparation  are : 


MOLTKE.     By  Spencer  Wilkinson. 

JUDAS  MACCABEUS.     By  Israel 
Abrahams. 

SOBIESKI.     By  F.  A.  Pollard. 

ALFRED  THE  TRUTHTELLER. 
By  Frederick  Perry. 

FREDERICK     II.       By     A.     L. 

Smith. 

MARLBOROUGH. 

Oman. 


By  C.  W.  C. 


RICHARD  THE  LION-HEARTED 
By  T.  A.  Archer. 

WILLIAM    THE    SILENT.       By 

Ruth  Putnam. 

CHARLES     THE     BOLD.         By 
Ruth  Putnam. 

GREGORY  VII.     By  F.  Urquhart. 

MAHOMET.   By  D.  S.  Margoliouth. 


New  York— G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  Publishers— London 


951*89 
K775 


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o 

CM 
IT* 
O 


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' 


«B» 


X 


BOUND 

MAY      4  19B2 


